An Indian anti-corruption court sentenced 14 individuals, including 11 police officials and a former BJP MLA, to life imprisonment for the kidnapping and extortion of crypto from a Surat businessman in 2018. The case involved Bitcoin recovered from BitConnect developer Dhaval Mavani after the company shut down, resulting in $900 million loss.

Ex-MLA Nalin Kotadiya among 14 arrested. Source: DeshGujarat
Upon recovering lost investments, Kotadiya and senior officers orchestrated the kidnapping of businessman Shailesh Bhatt for his crypto holdings. Bhatt was held at Keshav Farm near Gandhinagar, beaten, and coerced into admitting to his Bitcoin holdings. The accused extorted $150,000 from him, resulting in the arrest of 15 individuals.

Crypto kidnap probe triggers 15 arrests
15 individuals were arrested in connection with the crypto kidnapping case after businessman Shailesh Bhatt reported the incident to the Union home ministry. The prosecution presented 173 witnesses during the trial, leading to the confiscation of gold ornaments from one of the accused police officials.

Last week, Thai authorities arrested a South Korean man accused of laundering cryptocurrencies into gold worth over $50 million. The arrest is part of a larger crackdown on criminal activities involving cryptocurrencies. India is also considering a new crypto ban to support its central bank digital currency (CBDC) initiative.

Magazine: India mulls new crypto ban to support CBDC, Lazarus Group strikes again

Read more at Cointelegraph: Indian Court Sentences 14 to Life in Bitcoin Extortion Case