The Indian Politician that was accused of extorting millions in the form of Bitcoin and other altcoins has finally been apprehended. The politician has been on the run for a little over two months now. Incidentally, the politician that has been accused of extortion happens to be a former MLA from the current ruling party; The Bharatiya Janta Party.
The Case
The Indian National Congress in July came out with some heated revelations, accusing top brass politicians in the BJP of being involved in siphoning of funds and extorting money. The INC spokesperson came out on live television and named some of the state’s leadership of having been involved in converting illicit funds into cryptocurrencies.
The spokesperson, on behalf of the party, named former BJP MLA Nalin Kotadiya for having facilitated these ‘hawala’ transactions and said that there were some major connections to the kidnapping syndicate of Shailesh Bhatt.
The former MLA is one of the accused in the $1.3 million USD Bitcoin scam that is said to have happened in Gujarat. With the blessing of many top-ranked officials in the state party’s leadership.
Shailesh Bhatt in the past has filed a case against the police for having extorted some 200 BTC from him. On further investigation into the claims, it became clear that the money that was extorted from him came into his possession by extortion too.
After the INC’s accusations fructified into warranting legal action, fingers were pointed at the former BJP MLA and an arrest warrant was issued during the same time. However, a little after that the MLA fled and has been on the run ever since. On the 9th of September, he was apprehended and is currently in police custody.
The Arrest
The Former BJP MLA had been on the run for over a month now. But on 9th of September, he was apprehended by the Ahmedabad Crime Branch Police. Nalin Kotadiya is being indicted for his involvement in the 9.95 crore BTC extortion scam. Which had allegedly occurred in Surat.
It is said that his involvement became clearer after the interrogation of Kirit Paladiya. Who allegedly pointed the way towards him and said that he was merely an accomplice to a larger plan masterminded by the former MLA.
The Effect
The surfacing and investigation of this particular bitcoin scam has come at a very crucial time for cryptocurrencies in the country. The Indian cryptocurrency community is waiting on its heels for the verdict and further changes that are to be revealed in a couple of days from the Coin Recoil vs RBI case.
The number of scams and extortion plots that have been exposed in the past couple of months that involve large amounts of cryptocurrencies is on the rise in India. And may just act as a mean to tip the scales against the entire industry and market. However, scams are a part and parcel of every industry and the merits of this one should not be pegged on the scams that are done in its name.
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