Thane police have arrested two co-founders of cryptocurrency exchange CoinDCX in connection with an alleged Rs 71.6 lakh fraud, even as the company denied the charges and claimed the case stems from impersonation by fraudsters.
According to police, an FIR was registered on March 16 at Mumbra police station against co-founders Sumit Gupta, Neeraj Khandelwal and others on charges of cheating, criminal breach of trust and fraud. The case pertains to an alleged investment scheme promising high returns and franchise opportunities linked to the platform.
The complainant, a 42-year-old insurance advisor, alleged he was duped of Rs 71.6 lakh between August 2025 and March 2026 after being lured into investing in a firm purportedly associated with CoinDCX. He claimed to have transferred Rs 71,60,015 through both cash and online transactions, but the money was not returned and was allegedly misappropriated.
A Mumbra police team apprehended the two accused from Bengaluru on Saturday. They were produced before a local court on Sunday, which remanded them to police custody till Monday, senior police inspector Anil Shinde said.
"A detailed probe is underway to determine if there are more victims linked to this investment scheme," the official added.
Reacting to the developments, CoinDCX denied the allegations and attributed the case to fraudulent impersonation. In a statement posted on X, the company said: “The FIR filed against our co-founders is false and filed as a conspiracy against CoinDCX by impersonators posing as Founders of CoinDCX and cheating the public at large. We have taken cognizance of the fact and published a notice to public at large on our website that CoinDCX is being targeted by fraudsters”.
“The entire conspiracy falsely claims that funds were transferred in cash to third party accounts which have no relation to CoinDCX,” it added.
“Brand impersonation and related cyber frauds are an increasing concern in India’s digital finance ecosystem, and we strongly condemn such actions. We remain fully committed to supporting authorities in addressing such misconduct. Between April 1, 2024 and January 5, 2026, we have reported over 1,212 fake websites impersonating coindcx.com. We are fully cooperating with the relevant law enforcement authorities. We remain committed to education and user awareness to safeguard our community against such threats,” the company concluded its post.
