India’s Enforcement Directorate (ED), the country’s financial crime investigation agency, confiscated ₹1,646 crore worth of crypto assets related to BitConnect. A February 15 local report stated:

“The ED unit in Ahmedabad has seized cryptocurrency worth ₹1,646 crore as part of its investigation into the BitConnect cryptocurrency fraud, in which numerous investors were allegedly duped under the guise of securities investment.”

Authorities Seize Additional Assets

In addition to cryptocurrencies, Indian officials also confiscated ₹13,50,500 (approximately $15,582), an SUV, and several electronic devices during raids conducted in Gujarat on February 11 and 15.

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BitConnect, which launched in 2016, collapsed within just two years, leaving thousands of investors with heavy losses. BitConnect founder Satish Kumbhani, who was charged by the U.S. Department of Justice in February 2022, is accused of building a global network of promoters, offering commissions to push the Ponzi scheme.

BitConnect Victims Took Matters Into Their Own Hands

Some BitConnect victims attempted to take action on their own. In August 2024, Indian authorities revealed that investor Shailesh Babulal Bhatt, who had lost money in BitConnect Coin (BCC), allegedly kidnapped two BitConnect employees in an attempt to recover his funds. According to reports, Bhatt and his accomplices extorted:

• 2,091 Bitcoin
• 11,000 Litecoin
• $1.7 million (approximately ₹145 million)

Authorities stated that Bhatt took these drastic measures to recover his investment.

FBI Cracks Down on Crypto Fraud

Global authorities continue to crack down on crypto-related fraud. The FBI’s “Operation Level Up” reportedly prevented $285 million in potential crypto fraud between January 2024 and January 2025.

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“Mr. Bigatton gave advice on financial products without having an Australian Financial Services license or authorization to offer financial services about the lending platform,” the Australian Securities and Exchange Commission (ASIC) said in a statement dated May 17.

ASIC claimed that in his capacity as national promoter for BitConnect, John Louis Anthony Bigatton provided financial product advice on six separate occasions in various parts of Australia, at four seminars, and in two social media posts.

“Mr Bigatton undertook promotional activities for BitConnect and the Lending Platform on social media, at seminars that he hosted at various locations around Australia, and through face-to-face meetings with investors.”

BitConnect currency (BCC) purchases were encouraged on the company’s website as an investment possibility through the promotion of its lending platform.

For a set period, investors might lend BCC at high interest rates. They were powerless over their loans after they were invested and could not take their money out till the lending term was up. The IRS claims this was done so the platform could function as a Ponzi scheme, compensating early BitConnect investors with funds from later investors.

July 5 is the scheduled sentencing hearing.

Launched in February 2016, BitConnect was a digital currency and platform until closing in January 2018, when its owners vanished with the money they had raised.

January 2023, a few years later, saw an order for $17 million in reparations for the fraudulent plan from the United States District Court for the Southern District of California.

A court decided that a group of BitConnect investment scheme victims receive a portion of a $17 million payment, providing some relief from the multibillion dollar fraud scheme.

It is still unknown where creator Satish Kumbhani is.

The post Australian Pleads Guilty in $2.4B BitConnect Scam appeared first on Coin Engineer.