Coinbase Insider Trading: Two Indians Brothers, Houston Man Charged in First Crypto Insider Trading Case

The Wahi brothers and Ramani allegedly used confidential information about which crypto assets were to be listed on Coinbase’s exchanges.

By Press Trust of India | Updated: 22 July 2022 11:50 IST

Coinbase Insider Trading: Two Indians Brothers, Houston Man Charged in First Crypto Insider Trading Case

Photo Credit: Unsplash/ Bermix Studio

SEC also announced insider trading charges against the three men

Highlights

They have been charged in first cryptocurrency insider trading case
The Wahi brothers were arrested on Thursday morning in Seattle
Coinbase is one of the world's largest cryptocurrency exchanges

Two Indian brothers and their Indian-American friend have been charged in the US in the first-ever cryptocurrency insider trading scheme in which they made illicit profits totalling over a million dollars. Ishan Wahi, 32, and his brother Nikhil Wahi, 26, are citizens of India and were residing in Seattle while Sameer Ramani, 33, resides in Houston.

United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York Damian Williams and Assistant Director-in-Charge of the New York Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation Michael J Driscoll announced on Thursday the unsealing of an indictment.

The Wahi brothers and Ramani were charged with wire fraud conspiracy and wire fraud in connection with a scheme to commit insider trading in cryptocurrency assets by using confidential Coinbase information about which crypto assets were scheduled to be listed on Coinbase's exchanges.

Italian Regulators Give Nod of Approval to CryptoCom Exchange

The Securities and Exchange Commission also announced insider trading charges against the three men.

The Wahi brothers were arrested on Thursday morning in Seattle and will be presented in the United States District Court for the Western District of Washington.

The SEC complaint said Ramani is believed to currently be in India.

South Korea Delays Levying 20 Percent Crypto Tax By Three Years

Ramani and Ishan Wahi attended the University of Texas at Austin at the same time and remain close friends.

Prosecutors said the three have been charged in the first-ever cryptocurrency insider trading tipping scheme, in which the defendants made illegal trades in at least 25 different crypto assets and realised ill-gotten gains totalling approximately $1.5 million (roughly Rs. 11 crore).

The charges "are a further reminder that Web3 is not a law-free zone. Just last month, I announced the first-ever insider trading case involving NFTs, and today I announce the first-ever insider trading case involving cryptocurrency markets," Williams said.

"Our message with these charges is clear: fraud is a fraud, whether it occurs on the blockchain or on Wall Street. And the Southern District of New York will continue to be relentless in bringing fraudsters to justice, wherever we may find them,” Williams added.

Ishan Wahi is charged with two counts of wire fraud conspiracy and two counts of wire fraud, each of which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years.

Similarly, Nikhil Wahi and Ramani are charged with one count of wire fraud conspiracy and one count of wire fraud, each of which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years.

Will crypto tax hurt the industry in India? We discuss this on Orbital, the Gadgets 360 podcast. Orbital is available on Spotify, Gaana, JioSaavn, Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music and wherever you get your podcasts.

Cryptocurrency is an unregulated digital currency, not a legal tender and subject to market risks. The information provided in the article is not intended to be and does not constitute financial advice, trading advice or any other advice or recommendation of any sort offered or endorsed by NDTV. NDTV shall not be responsible for any loss arising from any investment based on any perceived recommendation, forecast or any other information contained in the article.

Affiliate links may be automatically generated - see our ethics statement for details.

Comments

For the latest tech news and reviews, follow Gadgets 360 on X, Facebook, WhatsApp, Threads and Google News. For the latest videos on gadgets and tech, subscribe to our YouTube channel. If you want to know everything about top influencers, follow our in-house Who'sThat360 on Instagram and YouTube.