Two Indian brothers, 32 year old Ishan Wahi and 26 year old Nikhil Wahi, along with their Indian-American friend, 33 year old Sameer Ramani, have been charged in the US in the first ever cryptocurrency insider trading scheme. They have allegedly made illicit profits totalling to approximately $1.5 million, as per PTI report.
The two brothers are citizens of India and were residing in Seattle, while their friend Sameer Ramani resides in Houston.?
Yesterday, United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York Damian Williams and Assistant Director-in-Charge of the New York Field Office of the FBI Michael J. Driscoll announced the unsealing of an Indictment charging the Wahi brothers and Mr Ramani with wire fraud conspiracy and wire fraud in connection with a scheme to commit insider trading in cryptocurrency assets. They reportedly did so by using confidential Coinbase information about which crypto assets were scheduled to be listed on Coinbase's exchanges.
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) also announced insider trading charges against the two brothers and their friend.
The Wahi brothers were arrested yesterday morning in Seattle and will be presented in the United States District Court for the Western District of Washington.
The SEC complaint said that the friend Mr Ramani is believed to currently be in India. He and Ishan Wahi had attended the University of Texas at Austin at the same time and remain close friends, the report mentioned.??
Prosecutors said the three men have been charged in the first ever cryptocurrency insider trading tipping scheme. They made illegal trades in at least 25 different crypto assets and realised illicit gains totalling approximately $1.5 million.
Ishan Wahi is charged with two counts of wire fraud conspiracy and two counts of wire fraud, each of which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years.
Similarly, Nikhil Wahi and Mr Ramani are charged with one count of wire fraud conspiracy and one count of wire fraud, each of which, again, carries a maximum sentence of 20 years.
For the uninitiated, insider trading is the trading of a public company's stock or other securities based on material, non-public information about the company, i.e. insider information. It's usually done with the aim of earning profits, and is an illegal practice in many countries.
Also Read:?India's Biggest Crypto Ponzi Scam? How The GainBitcoin Fraud Is Turning Out To Be In Trillions
As per PTI report, United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York Damian Williams said "Today's charges are a further reminder that Web3 is not a law-free zone. Just last month, I announced the first ever insider trading case involving NFTs, and today I announce the first ever insider trading case involving cryptocurrency markets. Our message with these charges is clear: fraud is fraud, whether it occurs on the blockchain or on Wall Street. And the Southern District of New York will continue to be relentless in bringing fraudsters to justice, wherever we may find them."
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