‘No case made out against them’: Court grants bail to CoinDCX co founders in alleged fraud case

A court in Thane district on Tuesday granted bail to CoinDCX co-founders Sumit Gupta and Neeraj Khandelwal in an alleged cheating case involving ₹71.60 lakh.

Magistrate Nilesh Rathod ordered their release on a surety of ₹50,000 each and directed them to cooperate with the ongoing investigation.

The founders were arrested from Bengaluru on March 21 after an FIR was registered at the Mumbra police station. They were initially sent to police custody till Monday and later to judicial custody after the complainant told the court that he had received the disputed amount from one of the six accused and did not know the co-founders.

After being sent to jail, Gupta and Khandelwal moved a bail plea, which was heard on Tuesday.

Their lawyers — Abhijeet Sawant, Pranav Badheka and Rajan Salunke — told the court that the co-founders had no role in the case and were victims of “mistaken identity” and fraudulent impersonation. They argued that the people the complainant met were not Gupta and Khandelwal, but others pretending to be them.

The defence said the co-founders were not present at the time of the alleged meetings and that fraudsters used their names and the company’s identity to cheat the complainant.

“The real accused used the names of the directors and the company, thereby cheating the complainant. However, the individuals arrested were not the ones who met the complainant,” the defence submitted.

The lawyers also informed the court about a 2024 Delhi High Court order obtained by CoinDCX (Neblio Technologies) restraining unknown persons from misusing the company’s name. They added that the company had already issued warnings on its website and app about such frauds.

While granting bail, the court referred to the right to personal liberty.

“Considering the object of Article 21 of the Constitution of India (related to protection of life and personal liberty) and the law laid down by the Hon’ble Apex Court that ‘bail is the rule and jail is the exception’, I hold that the applicants/accused are entitled to bail as prima facie no case was made out against them,” the magistrate said.

Police said the investigation is still ongoing and efforts are being made to trace the remaining four accused.

The case is based on a complaint filed by a 42-year-old insurance advisor from Mumbra, who alleged that he was cheated of ₹71.6 lakh between August 2025 and March this year after being promised high returns through a firm said to be linked to the cryptocurrency platform. He transferred ₹71,60,015 through cash and online payments, but the money was not returned and was allegedly misused.

CoinDCX denied the allegations in a social media post on Monday, saying the FIR filed against the company’s co-founders is false and part of a conspiracy involving impersonators posing as CoinDCX founders to cheat the public.

(With inputs from PTI)