CoinDCX founders were arrested over a fake-site fraud. See how their ₹100 crore Digital Suraksha Network plans to fight crypto scams.
CoinDCX co-founders Sumit Gupta and Neeraj Khandelwal faced an unexpected legal crisis in March.
A Mumbra police team flew to Bengaluru on March 21 and detained both men. The arrest stemmed from a ₹71.6 lakh fraud complaint tied to a fake website, coindcx.pro.
This site had no link to their actual platform, coindcx.com. Three days later, a Thane court granted bail, finding no case against the founders.
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The FIR named six people in total. Alongside the two co-founders, four others were listed: Akash Rana, Rahul Gupta, P. Vasudev, and Shivam Sharma.
Senior Inspector Anil Shinde confirmed charges of cheating, criminal breach of trust, and fraud under Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita provisions.
The Thane court, however, found that the complainant himself did not know the founders. He confirmed in court that he had never met either man.
The fraud ran entirely through the impersonator site, with no transaction touching CoinDCX’s actual exchange.
As LiviBitcoinNews earlier reported, the arrest caught India’s startup and crypto circles off guard. Two well-known IIT Bombay alumni were in custody over a scam they did not run.
The incident exposed a dangerous legal gap in how brand impersonation cases get handled.
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CoinDCX Founders Arrested: Is Something Bigger Happening?
How a Fake Website Triggered a Real Arrest
Sumit Gupta addressed the situation directly on X.
He called the experience “deeply unsettling” and “disheartening.” He noted that the founders knew from the start they had no involvement. Still, the process itself proved alarming.
Gupta raised a sharp concern on his X post. If a scammer builds a fake website using a founder’s name or brand and defrauds someone, the founder can face arrest.
Not the actual scammer. This is the precedent the arrest appears to have set.
CoinDCX had already documented over 1,200 fraudulent websites impersonating its platform. That intelligence sat inside the company’s internal systems.
The arrest pushed the founders to act publicly and urgently.
I want to address what happened to Neeraj and me last week. Of course, it was quite shocking to us as well and honestly very disheartening. But today, we want to talk about what actually happened and more importantly, what we’re going to do about it.
On March 21, we were taken… pic.twitter.com/7uNEu0T3H3
— Sumit Gupta (CoinDCX) (@smtgpt) March 30, 2026
CoinDCX’s ₹100 Crore Digital Suraksha Network Explained
On Monday, CoinDCX announced the Digital Suraksha Network, a ₹100 crore commitment. The initiative targets cyber safety gaps across India’s digital finance space.
Gupta made clear this goes beyond crypto. Any company with a digital footprint faces this same risk.
The network includes a 24/7 WhatsApp helpline, free for all users. Anyone can verify a link, platform, or offer before sending money.
CoinDCX also plans to launch an open Fraud Intelligence API. This will share real-time data on fraudulent sites with banks, fintechs, and other exchanges.
The founders also announced cyber training programs for state cybercrime units. These will cover blockchain forensics and digital asset tracing.
A nationwide campaign called “Caution Before Transaction” will round out the initiative. Gupta called on every platform, regulator, and digital finance user to join the effort.