Verify a decision

{"actor":"system:backfill","investigation_id":"a2351e39-3e27-4a02-a865-540608287dd3","kind":"publish","page_slug":"satish-kumbhani","published_at":"2026-05-30T18:33:27.235Z","sequence_num":1,"snapshot":{"content_type":"investigation","entity_name":"Satish Kumbhani","sections":[{"content":"","heading":"","severity":"medium","sources":[{"credibility":3,"name":"https://www.coindesk.com/podcasts/crypto-crooks/bitconnect-episode-1-the-gujarati-connection","type":"other","url":""},{"credibility":3,"name":"https://www.justice.gov/archives/opa/pr/bitconnect-founder-indicted-global-24-billion-cryptocurrency-scheme","type":"other","url":""},{"credibility":3,"name":"https://edition.cnn.com/2022/02/27/business/bitconnect-ponzi-scheme-satish-kumbhani","type":"other","url":""}]},{"content":"","heading":"","severity":"medium","sources":[{"credibility":3,"name":"https://www.justice.gov/archives/opa/pr/bitconnect-founder-indicted-global-24-billion-cryptocurrency-scheme","type":"other","url":""},{"credibility":3,"name":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bitconnect","type":"other","url":""},{"credibility":3,"name":"https://www.sec.gov/newsroom/press-releases/2021-172","type":"other","url":""},{"credibility":3,"name":"https://coinmarketcap.com/currencies/bitconnect/","type":"other","url":""}]},{"content":"","heading":"","severity":"medium","sources":[{"credibility":3,"name":"https://thenextweb.com/hardfork/2018/01/05/bitconnect-cease-desist-order-ponzi/","type":"other","url":""},{"credibility":3,"name":"https://www.coindesk.com/markets/2018/01/11/us-state-regulators-hit-bitconnect-with-second-cease-and-desist","type":"other","url":""},{"credibility":3,"name":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bitconnect","type":"other","url":""},{"credibility":3,"name":"https://www.justice.gov/archives/opa/pr/bitconnect-founder-indicted-global-24-billion-cryptocurrency-scheme","type":"other","url":""}]},{"content":"","heading":"","severity":"medium","sources":[{"credibility":3,"name":"https://www.sec.gov/newsroom/press-releases/2021-172","type":"other","url":""},{"credibility":3,"name":"https://www.coindesk.com/policy/2021/09/01/sec-sues-bitconnect-founder-on-fraud-charges","type":"other","url":""},{"credibility":3,"name":"https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdca/pr/director-and-promoter-bitconnect-pleads-guilty-global-2-billion-cryptocurrency-scheme","type":"other","url":""},{"credibility":3,"name":"https://fxnewsgroup.com/forex-news/cryptocurrency/bitconnect-founder-has-been-fugitive-for-more-than-three-years-sec-confirms/","type":"other","url":""}]},{"content":"","heading":"","severity":"medium","sources":[{"credibility":3,"name":"https://www.justice.gov/archives/opa/pr/bitconnect-founder-indicted-global-24-billion-cryptocurrency-scheme","type":"other","url":""},{"credibility":3,"name":"https://edition.cnn.com/2022/02/27/business/bitconnect-ponzi-scheme-satish-kumbhani","type":"other","url":""},{"credibility":3,"name":"https://coingeek.com/bitconnect-founder-indicted-over-2-4b-ponzi-scheme-faces-70-years-in-prison/","type":"other","url":""}]},{"content":"","heading":"","severity":"medium","sources":[{"credibility":3,"name":"https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdca/pr/director-and-promoter-bitconnect-pleads-guilty-global-2-billion-cryptocurrency-scheme","type":"other","url":""},{"credibility":3,"name":"https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdca/pr/victims-bitconnect-scheme-receive-more-17-million-compensate-losses","type":"other","url":""},{"credibility":3,"name":"https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-09-17/bitconnect-promoter-gets-38-months-in-2-4-billion-ponzi-scam","type":"other","url":""},{"credibility":3,"name":"https://www.coindesk.com/policy/2023/01/13/bitconnects-victims-to-receive-17m-in-restitution-seized-from-scams-promoter","type":"other","url":""}]},{"content":"","heading":"","severity":"medium","sources":[{"credibility":3,"name":"https://fortune.com/2022/03/01/bitconnect-founder-satish-kumbhani-disappeared-india-sec-lawsuit/","type":"other","url":""},{"credibility":3,"name":"https://www.coindesk.com/policy/2022/03/01/bitconnect-founder-indicted-in-24b-ponzi-scheme-has-disappeared","type":"other","url":""},{"credibility":3,"name":"https://www.coindesk.com/policy/2022/08/17/fugitive-bitconnect-founder-kumbhani-indicted-in-us-is-now-wanted-in-india-too","type":"other","url":""},{"credibility":3,"name":"https://fxnewsgroup.com/forex-news/cryptocurrency/bitconnect-founder-has-been-fugitive-for-more-than-three-years-sec-confirms/","type":"other","url":""},{"credibility":3,"name":"https://www.coindesk.com/policy/2025/02/17/india-s-directorate-of-enforcement-seizes-usd190m-in-bitconnect-fraud-case","type":"other","url":""},{"credibility":3,"name":"https://www.dlnews.com/articles/regulation/bitconnect-crypto-scam-ringleader-tracked-to-india-while-authorities-seize-190m/","type":"other","url":""},{"credibility":3,"name":"https://www.theregister.com/2025/02/18/india_bitconnect_seizures/","type":"other","url":""}]},{"content":"","heading":"","severity":"medium","sources":[{"credibility":3,"name":"https://www.justice.gov/archives/opa/pr/bitconnect-founder-indicted-global-24-billion-cryptocurrency-scheme","type":"other","url":""},{"credibility":3,"name":"https://www.coindesk.com/policy/2023/01/13/bitconnects-victims-to-receive-17m-in-restitution-seized-from-scams-promoter","type":"other","url":""},{"credibility":3,"name":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bitconnect","type":"other","url":""},{"credibility":3,"name":"https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-09-17/bitconnect-promoter-gets-38-months-in-2-4-billion-ponzi-scam","type":"other","url":""}]}],"sources_used":[],"summary":"Satish Kumbhani is the founder of BitConnect, a cryptocurrency platform that the U.S. Department of Justice, SEC, and multiple state regulators have determined operated as a global Ponzi scheme defrauding investors of approximately $2.4 billion between 2016 and 2018. Kumbhani was indicted by a federal grand jury in San Diego on February 25, 2022, on charges carrying a maximum penalty of 70 years in prison, and has remained a fugitive from justice since disappearing from India following his U.S. indictment.","timeline":[{"date":"2016-02-01","event":"BitConnect launches; BCC token begins trading at approximately $0.17.","source":""},{"date":"2016-11-15","event":"BitConnect launches its ICO, which runs for approximately 46 days.","source":""},{"date":"2017-10-01","event":"BCC reaches 8th-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization; Vitalik Buterin and Charlie Lee publicly flag BitConnect as likely fraudulent.","source":""},{"date":"2017-11-07","event":"United Kingdom issues BitConnect a formal notice requiring it to demonstrate legitimacy within two months.","source":""},{"date":"2017-12-01","event":"BCC reaches all-time high of approximately $463.","source":""},{"date":"2018-01-04","event":"Texas State Securities Board issues emergency cease-and-desist order against BitConnect.","source":""},{"date":"2018-01-09","event":"North Carolina Secretary of State Securities Division issues a second cease-and-desist order against BitConnect.","source":""},{"date":"2018-01-16","event":"BitConnect abruptly shuts down its lending platform; BCC collapses approximately 92% within hours.","source":""},{"date":"2021-09-01","event":"SEC files civil enforcement action against BitConnect, Kumbhani, Glenn Arcaro, and Future Money Ltd. alleging $2 billion fraud. Arcaro simultaneously pleads guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud.","source":""},{"date":"2022-02-25","event":"Federal grand jury in Southern District of California indicts Satish Kumbhani on five counts including wire fraud, commodity price manipulation, and international money laundering. Maximum exposure: 70 years.","source":""},{"date":"2022-03-01","event":"SEC and multiple outlets report Kumbhani has disappeared from India and cannot be located.","source":""},{"date":"2022-08-17","event":"CoinDesk reports Indian authorities have opened their own proceedings against Kumbhani; he is now wanted in both the U.S. and India.","source":""},{"date":"2022-09-16","event":"Glenn Arcaro sentenced to 38 months in prison; ordered to pay $17,646,801 in restitution.","source":""},{"date":"2023-01-13","event":"Federal court orders distribution of over $17 million in restitution to approximately 800 BitConnect victims across 40+ countries.","source":""},{"date":"2024-11-15","event":"SEC confirms in court filings that Kumbhani has been a fugitive for more than three years and his location remains unknown despite international inquiries.","source":""},{"date":"2025-02-11","event":"India's Enforcement Directorate raids Ahmedabad premises connected to BitConnect, seizing approximately $190 million in cryptocurrency, cash, a vehicle, and electronic devices. Kumbhani is reported to have been tracked to Ahmedabad.","source":""}]},"v":1}