Indian crypto exchange CoinDCX co‑founders Sumit Gupta and Neeraj Khandelwal were reportedly detained for questioning by Thane Police after a complaint alleging their involvement in a crypto investment fraud, according to reports in The Economic Times and local outlets including Entrackr. Some media said the pair were arrested; others said they were only called in for questioning.
The case centers on a website that allegedly impersonated the CoinDCX platform. A 42‑year‑old insurance consultant filed a first information report (FIR), saying they were induced to invest via the fake site and lost about 71 lakh Indian rupees (roughly $75,000), the Times of India reported.
CoinDCX posted on X that the FIR was “false and filed as a conspiracy” by impersonators who posed as its founders and diverted funds to third‑party accounts that the exchange said were not connected to CoinDCX. The company described brand impersonation and cyber fraud as escalating problems in India’s digital finance space, and said it is fully cooperating with law enforcement while stepping up user education and awareness efforts.
To illustrate the scale of the issue, CoinDCX said it reported more than 1,212 websites impersonating its coindcx.com domain between April 1, 2024 and Jan. 5, 2026, underscoring the prevalence of phishing and impersonation attacks targeting Indian crypto users.
The incident comes amid a broader rise in online investment fraud in India. Data cited from the Ministry of Home Affairs via Insights IAS shows investment scams accounted for 76% of all financial losses in 2025. Industry trackers also reported that Web3 platforms worldwide lost roughly $3.95 billion to hacks and exploits in 2025.
Founded in 2018 and based in Mumbai, CoinDCX is one of India’s best‑known crypto trading platforms. It was valued at about $2.45 billion after an investment from Coinbase Ventures in October 2025. The exchange has previously faced security scrutiny: in July 2025 attackers stole roughly $44 million from an internal operational account, an incident CoinDCX said did not affect customer assets.
Reporting around the case has varied; Cointelegraph says this article was produced in accordance with its editorial policy and encourages readers to verify information independently.