CoinDCX founders get bail in fraud case, question mark over cop action

Thane: A magistrate court on Tuesday granted bail to CoinDCX co-founders Sumit Gupta and Neeraj Khandelwal in a Rs 71.6 lakh cheating case registered at Mumbra police station, observing that no prima facie case was made out against them and that the complainant was cheated by others posing as the cryptocurrency firm's promoters.Judicial Magistrate (First Class) N B Rathod ordered their release on a personal recognisance (PR) bond of Rs 50,000 each. The co-founders were arrested from Bengaluru last week and were initially remanded to police custody before being sent to judicial custody. Their bail plea was heard after the complainant submitted an affidavit stating that he had recovered the cheated amount from another accused and no longer had any grievance. The court recorded that the investigating officer had no objection to bail and acknowledged that the accused were not present in Mumbra at the time of the alleged offence. It further noted that "some other person, by representing as accused, cheated the informant", a fact also admitted by the complainant.Questions are now being raised over the manner in which the Mumbra police handled the case. In its official statement, CoinDCX said holding legitimate institutions accountable for actions carried out by bad actors misusing their identity risks setting a damaging precedent for the broader financial ecosystem. CoinDCX said the company and its leadership had no involvement in the fraud and were themselves victims of impersonation. The magistrate's order referred to documents including proceedings before the Delhi high court, indicating that the company itself has initiated action against unknown persons carrying out fraudulent activities in its name.The FIR names six accused, of whom four remain wanted. The complainant alleged he was lured with promises of high returns through a purported cryptocurrency franchise linked to CoinDCX.