CoinDCX co-founders Sumit Gupta, Neeraj Khandelwal arrested over ₹71 lakh fraud charges

Thane police arrested Sumit Gupta and Neeraj Khandelwal, co-founders of cryptocurrency exchange platform CoinDCX, in connection with the alleged fraud. ₹71.6 lakh on Monday, officials said.

However, the company claimed that the FIR was fake and that there was a conspiracy against CoinDCX by impersonators pretending to be its founders and deceiving the public.

According to officials, the arrests followed an FIR registered at Mumbra police station in Thane, Maharashtra, on March 16 on charges of cheating, breach of trust and fraud against CoinDCX co-founders Gupta, Khandelwal and others.

The 42-year-old insurance consultant, who was the complainant in the case, claimed that he was deceived. ₹71.6 lakh between August 2025 and March this year after being lured by promises of high returns by investing in a firm allegedly associated with the cryptocurrency platform. He was also offered a franchise opportunity, according to police.

The complainant, who lives in Mumbra, ₹71,60,015 through cash and online transactions at different times. However, they said the deposited amount was not refunded and instead the funds were allegedly misappropriated.

A Mumbra police team arrested Gupta and Khandelwal from Bengaluru on Saturday. They were later brought to Thane and produced in the local court on Sunday, which will remand them in police custody till Monday, senior police inspector Anil Shinde said.

“A detailed investigation is ongoing to determine whether there are more victims linked to this investment scheme,” the official added.

However, the company said in a statement on Monday, “The FIR filed against our co-founders is fake and has been filed as a conspiracy against CoinDCX by impersonators pretending to be CoinDCX Founders and deceiving the public at large.”

“We became aware of this fact and published a public notice on our website that CoinDCX was targeted by fraudsters. The entire conspiracy falsely claims that funds were transferred as cash to third-party accounts that have nothing to do with CoinDCX,” he added.

It was stated that brand impersonation and related cyber frauds are a growing concern in India’s digital finance ecosystem and CoinDCX strongly condemns such actions.

The company also said it was fully committed to supporting authorities in addressing such abuses. “Between April 1, 2024 and January 5, 2026, we reported more than 1,212 fraudulent websites impersonating coindcx.com,” he said.

“We are fully cooperating with appropriate law enforcement authorities. We remain committed to education and user awareness to protect our community against such threats,” he added.