A special court in Ahmedabad has sentenced 14 people to life in prison for kidnapping a Surat businessman and extorting cryptocurrency in 2018. The group includes 11 police officers and former Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLA Nalin Kotadiya.
The court found them guilty of criminal conspiracy, illegal detention, ransom-related kidnapping, and assault. Former Amreli Superintendent of Police Jagdish Patel was among those convicted. All officers were also held responsible under the Prevention of Corruption Act.
Special Judge B.B. Jadav announced the ruling on Friday. The case was handled by the state’s anti-corruption unit, and it resulted in one of the most serious rulings related to crypto-linked crimes in India.
Businessman Kidnapped Over Recovered Bitcoin
The case started when businessman Shailesh Bhatt recovered part of his funds in Bitcoin from Dhaval Mavani, a developer linked to the collapsed BitConnect platform. BitConnect had once attracted large investments before shutting down.
According to the complaint, after finding out about Bhatt’s recovered funds, senior officers and Kotadiya planned to seize the digital assets. On February 11, 2018, Bhatt was kidnapped by police officials and taken to a farmhouse near Gandhinagar.
He was reportedly assaulted and forced to admit that he had received 752 Bitcoin from Mavani. Bhatt told the kidnappers that 176 Bitcoin were held by his associate, Kirit Paladiya, and that the rest had already been sold.
Crypto Transferred Under Pressure
Bhatt was released only after agreeing to transfer part of the Bitcoin and a large sum in cash. When this transfer failed, the group reportedly forced the sale of 34 Bitcoin from Paladiya’s wallet, worth around $150,000.
After that, Bhatt went to the Union Home Ministry and submitted a formal complaint. This resulted in a thorough inquiry, in the process of which 15 people were apprehended. The case was managed by Amit Patel, who presented statements of 173 witnesses.
The court also ordered gold ornaments recovered from former SP Jagdish Patel to be sent to the Master of Mint in Mumbai.
Other Crypto-Related Crimes in Asia
In a separate case last week, authorities in Thailand arrested a South Korean man accused of converting crypto into gold worth over $50 million. Police believe the gold was linked to a call center scam operation.
Meanwhile, prosecutors in Taiwan have charged 14 people in what they say is the country’s largest cryptocurrency laundering case. The suspects are accused of defrauding more than 1,500 victims and moving over $72 million in digital assets. Authorities are seeking to recover nearly $40 million in cash and crypto.
