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Indian authorities have seized $190 million worth of cryptocurrency linked to the BitConnect fraud scheme, according to Indian Express.

During raids on February 11 and 15, law enforcement also confiscated $15,500 in rupees, a car, and electronic devices.

Investigators analyzed a complex network of transactions involving multiple crypto wallets, some of which were used on the darknet.

Using ground intelligence data, authorities tracked down locations where devices with access to digital assets were stored.

BitConnect operated from 2016 to 2018, promising 40% monthly returns or 1% per day, allegedly through a trading bot.

In January 2018, investors filed a class-action lawsuit, accusing the platform of running a Ponzi scheme. They claimed that BitConnect did not engage in real trading and that payouts were made using funds from new investors.

The platform’s collapse resulted in $2.4 billion in losses, affecting around 4,000 victims across 95 countries.

In August 2024, Indian authorities arrested a local resident suspected of kidnapping two BitConnect employees and extorting $125 million in cryptocurrency. The suspect claimed he was trying to recover his lost investment.

Earlier, in January 2025, a UK court convicted seven gang members for kidnapping a crypto investor to extort funds.