Cryptocurrency Investment Fraud Case Involving CoinDCX
On March 20, investigators questioned the founders of crypto exchange CoinDCX related to a cryptocurrency investment fraud incident linked to impersonation, as per three knowledgeable sources. Both Sumit Gupta and Neeraj Khandelwal, the founders, were interrogated at the Bellandur Police Station during the ongoing inquiry, according to a source who wished to remain unnamed. The case involves fraudsters who reportedly posed as CoinDCX and its founders to execute the scam.
As per the sources, the questioning was part of a probe conducted by the Thane Police. An FIR filed on March 16 at a Thane police station lists several individuals, including Sumit Gupta, Neeraj Khandelwal, Akash Rana, Rahul Gupta, P. Vasudev, and Shivam Sharma, in connection with the case.
The FIR indicates that the complainant was approached by individuals pretending to be company representatives, who persuaded him to invest substantial amounts with promises of returns between 10-12%, backed by promotional materials and documents. According to the FIR, a Mumbra-based insurance consultant claimed he was defrauded of Rs 71.6 lakh from August 2025 to March 2026 after being enticed by a high-yield crypto scheme falsely connected to CoinDCX. He had invested Rs 26.6 lakh, while two acquaintances, Ajendra Singh Chauhan and Narendra Singh Chauhan, contributed Rs 25 lakh and Rs 20 lakh, respectively, but none of the promised returns were received, and the suspects became unreachable.
The group’s attempts to contact the suspects or verify the company’s offices were unsuccessful, leading them to approach law enforcement. Startup Superb possesses a copy of the FIR.
CoinDCX, however, refuted the claims in a statement provided to Startup Superb. The statement noted that the FIR lodged against the co-founders is unfounded and allegedly stems from a conspiracy against CoinDCX by impersonators who are deceiving the public. CoinDCX has acknowledged the situation and issued a public notice on its website, warning that fraudsters are targeting the company.
The firm confirmed its cooperation with authorities and stated that the complainant has no connection to its platform. CoinDCX further clarified that it does not provide franchise programs and has reported over 1,200 fraudulent websites to CERT-In.
In July 2025, CoinDCX revealed a security breach that led to the loss of $44.2 million from its treasury, although it maintained that no user funds were affected. A software engineer at the company, Rahul Agarwal, was subsequently arrested for allegedly facilitating the breach through an elaborate attack on an internal wallet.
