Indian Court Grants Bail to CoinDCX Co‑Founders in Fake Platform Cheating Case - Crypto Economy

TL;DR:

• A Thane court granted bail to CoinDCX’s co-founders after finding no elements linking them to the reported fraud.
• The scam, valued at 71 lakh rupees (~$75,000), originated from a fake site called coindcx.pro that impersonated the exchange.
• The informant acknowledged before the court that the founders are not the individuals he dealt with at the café where the fraudulent agreement was closed.

A magistrate court in Thane, India, granted bail to the co-founders of CoinDCX, Sumit Surendra Gupta and Niraj Ashok Khandelwal, after concluding that no prima facie case exists against them in a fraud complaint linked to a fake platform that impersonated the exchange.

The joint order determined that the founders were not present in Mumbra when the reported events took place. The magistrate also placed on record that the informant himself acknowledged before the court that “another person, posing as the accused, deceived the complainant,” a detail that proved central to the judicial decision. The investigating officer raised no objection to the release of the defendants.


The Trap of CoinDCX’s Fake Domain

According to a statement published by CoinDCX, the fraud was carried out through the site coindcx.pro, a counterfeit domain with no connection to the company. The exchange described the episode as a case of “identity impersonation by third parties” and urged its users to verify domains and operate exclusively through its official channels.

The judge also noted that the informant submitted an affidavit stating that another defendant, identified as Rana, had already reimbursed the defrauded amount. The matter is considered “amicably resolved” between the parties, and the court ruled out any risk of the founders interfering with evidence or witnesses Each was released following the execution of a bail bond of 50,000 Indian rupees, equivalent to approximately $530, on the condition of cooperating with the ongoing investigation.


Founded in 2018 and headquartered in Mumbai, CoinDCX is one of India’s most prominent crypto exchanges. The company reached an estimated valuation of $2.45 billion following a funding round led by Coinbase Ventures in October 2025. The exchange had already faced a security crisis in July 2025, when hackers stole approximately $44 million from an internal operational account, though the company clarified that client funds were not affected.