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Senior BitConnect Promotor Arrested by Indian Authorities

Former BitConnect India head Divyesh Darji was arrested at Indira Gandhi International Airport in New Delhi on Sunday.

By Muyao Shen
AccessTimeIconAug 20, 2018 at 11:00 p.m. UTC
Updated Sep 13, 2021 at 8:18 a.m. UTC
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A promoter of the controversial cryptocurrency platform BitConnect was arrested on August 19, according to a local news outlet in India.

Former BitConnect India head Divyesh Darji was arrested at Indira Gandhi International Airport in New Delhi on Sunday, the India Express reported. The Criminal Investigation Department of Gujurat police announced they arrested Darji after receiving an alert from the nation's immigration agency.

According to P. G. Narwade, an inspector from the police department, Darji was en route from Dubai to the city of Ahmedabad when he was arrested.

He said:

"The accused held seminars, events in India and other countries promising high interest — daily interest rate of 1 percent — on investment in BitConnect coins. The cost of one BitConnect coin on January 16, 2018, when the company shut down, was USD 362."

As CoinDesk reported, BitConnect's lending service was shut down this past January after regulators in Texas and North Carolina said the company was engaging in the sale of unregistered securities tied to a token sale. The shutdown resulted in the startup's BCC token's price crashing, falling from its high of $400 at the beginning of the year to $17.25 on Jan. 17. The token is trading below 70 cents as of press time.

In addition to the unregistered security sale, BitConnect was also infamously accused of conducting a Ponzi scheme, particularly after several prominent figures in the crypto community levied criticisms against it, including the founder of ethereum, Vitalik Buterin.

After the platform's shutdown, former BitConnect investor and promoter Trevon James said the FBI had begun investigating the project, according to a YouTube video he posted in March.

Police car image via Shutterstock

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