- Eleven police officers and a parliamentarian are among 14 people sentenced to life in prison in India for their 2018 kidnapping and extortion of 34 Bitcoin from a businessman.
- The kidnappers, led by the local superintendent of police and a member of India’s Legislative Assembly, attempted to extort the businessman after hearing he’d received a large amount of BTC as part of a business deal.
An anti-corruption court in Ahmedabad, India, has sentenced 14 people, including 11 police officers and a former Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Member of the Legislative Assembly, to life in prison for kidnapping and extorting 34 Bitcoin from a businessman in 2018.
The Times of India reported on Friday that the judge in the case, B. B Jadav, found the 14 people guilty of criminal conspiracy, kidnapping for ransom, illegal detention, and assault.
The individuals sentenced to life imprisonment include the former Amreli district superintendent of police, Jagdish Patel, and former BJP parliamentarian from Amreli, Nalin Kotadiya.
In addition to their life sentences, all 11 police officers were also fined and found guilty of breaches of the Prevention of Corruption Act for misconduct by public servants.
“Widespread corruption among public servants and private persons is required to be curbed with a strong hand by all, and certainly, the verdict of the court has greater magnitude than other means,” the court said in a statement issued following the trial.
The case against the 14 convicted individuals centred around their plot to extort Bitcoin from a businessman named Shailesh Bhatt. Bhatt had been an investor in the failed crypto company BitConnect and had reportedly recovered a large amount of Bitcoin as part of a deal related to the company’s collapse.
Related: US$14.5B Bitcoin Heist Uncovered: Largest Crypto Theft in History Linked to Vanished Chinese Mining Pool
Police, Parliamentarian Plot to Extort Businessman
After learning that Bhatt had received a large amount of Bitcoin, ex-parliamentarian Kotadiya conspired with police in the Amreli district to kidnap him and steal his Bitcoin. The criminal group set their scheme into motion on February 11, 2018, abducting Bhatt and holding him captive at a farm.
During his kidnapping, Bhatt was beaten by the police officers before being forced to admit he had received 752 BTC from Mavani, 576 of which he had sold for around US$5 million (AU$7.6m), leaving him with access to 176 BTC.
The kidnappers only released Bhatt after he agreed to send them his remaining Bitcoin and around US$3.6 million (AU$5.5m). However, that deal didn’t eventuate, reportedly because the courier delivering the cash suspected a set-up and pulled out. Bhatt did end up being forced by his assailants to sell 34 of his remaining BTC, worth around US$150,000 (AU$229k) at the time.
Related: India Clamps Down on Crypto: $190 Million Seized in Bitconnect Ponzi Scheme Probe
Following his kidnapping and extortion, Bhatt reported the ordeal to the Union Home Ministry, leading to an investigation resulting in charges being filed against 15 people. During the trial, the prosecution called on a whopping 173 witnesses, of which 92 reportedly turned hostile — perjury notices were issued to 25 of the 92 hostile witnesses.
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