CoinDCX denies fraud claims, says impersonators used its brand in police probe
Indian crypto exchange CoinDCX has pushed back against allegations that its founders were involved in a fraud case, saying the matter stems from an impersonation scam that used the company’s name and branding to dupe investors.
What happened
- A report from Entrackr said CoinDCX founders Sumit Gupta and Neeraj Khandelwal were questioned by police in a probe into a crypto investment scam. The FIR filed in Thane reportedly names the founders among others.
- CoinDCX responded on X, calling the FIR “false” and alleging a conspiracy by fraudsters impersonating its founders. The company said the complainant has no association with CoinDCX and that no funds were routed through its systems.
- Decrypt contacted CoinDCX for further clarification; the exchange has not commented on reports about any arrests of the founders.
The alleged scam
- According to reporting, a Mumbra-based insurance consultant was lured into a scheme promising 10–12% returns using CoinDCX branding and forged documents. The victim reported losses of about $76,000 (Rs 71.6 lakh) from August 2025 to March, including his own $28,000; two associates purportedly invested $26,000 and $21,000 respectively.
Expert and industry reaction
- CA Sonu Jain, chief risk and compliance officer at 9Point Capital, told Decrypt this looks like “a classic case of impersonation fraud,” a pattern he says is increasingly common in India’s crypto space. He emphasized that founders being questioned after an FIR is often a procedural step, not proof of culpability.
- Jain urged clearer regulatory standards and investor protections, suggesting regulators define platform responsibilities, enable faster takedowns of fraudulent domains, and formalize coordination among FIU-India, I4C, CERT-In, and exchanges.
- Vedang Vatsa, founder of Hashtag Web3, told Decrypt the episode highlights wider gaps in financial literacy and due diligence across users, builders and regulators.
Scale and response
- CoinDCX said it has flagged extensive impersonation activity — identifying more than 1,212 fake websites imitating its platform between April 1, 2024 and January 5, 2026.
- The exchange said it is cooperating with law enforcement and continuing public awareness efforts to help users avoid such scams.
Context
- The development comes after a turbulent year for CoinDCX. In July last year the exchange disclosed a $44.2 million treasury breach and a Bengaluru-based software engineer at the firm was arrested over allegations of enabling the hack.
What to watch
- Whether police investigations clarify the role (if any) of CoinDCX personnel, and whether regulators act on industry calls to tighten takedown processes and cross-agency coordination to curb impersonation fraud.
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