Indian Police Question CoinDCX Founders Over $75K Scam

Founders Questioned in $75,000 Impersonation Scam

Co-founders of the Indian crypto exchange CoinDCX, Sumit Gupta and Neeraj Khandelwal, were questioned by police on March 20 in connection with a fraud investigation. The case stems from a First Information Report (FIR) filed on March 16 by an insurance consultant who alleged a loss of approximately 71 lakh Indian rupees (about $75,000). The individual was reportedly duped between August 2025 and March 2026 by a high-return crypto scheme promoted on a fake website, coindcx.pro, which impersonated the legitimate exchange.

CoinDCX immediately distanced itself from the incident, stating the FIR is “false and filed as a conspiracy.” The company asserted that the victim had no connection to its platform and that the diverted funds were sent to third-party accounts unaffiliated with the exchange. This event underscores the growing threat of sophisticated phishing attacks targeting investors in India's digital asset market.

CoinDCX Cites 1,212 Fake Sites in Defense

In its official response, CoinDCX portrayed the incident as part of a much larger, coordinated attack on its brand. The company disclosed that it had identified and reported over 1,212 fake websites impersonating its domain to authorities between April 1, 2024, and January 5, 2026. This highlights a significant operational challenge for the exchange as it battles widespread brand impersonation and cyber fraud, which it described as a growing problem in India’s digital finance sector.

The exchange emphasized its full cooperation with law enforcement and its commitment to user education. By pointing to the vast number of fraudulent sites, CoinDCX aims to frame the case not as an internal failure but as an external threat affecting the entire industry, where scammers exploit the reputation of well-known platforms to deceive investors.

Scrutiny Mounts After $44M Breach in July 2025

This latest incident places CoinDCX under renewed pressure regarding its security and operational integrity. The questioning of its founders comes less than two years after the exchange suffered a significant security breach in July 2025, when attackers stole roughly $44 million from an internal operational account. While the company stated that user funds were not affected in that hack, the recurring security-related headlines raise concerns for investors and regulators.

As one of India's most prominent crypto platforms, valued at approximately $2.45 billion after an investment from Coinbase Ventures in October 2025, CoinDCX faces high stakes. The combination of a major past breach and the current fraud allegations involving its brand could impact user confidence and attract greater regulatory oversight in a market where investment scams accounted for 76% of all financial losses in 2025.