A man who extorted around $146 million from BitConnect scammers has been arrested in Ahmedabad, Gujarat.

Shailesh Bubulal Bhatt was a BitConnect investor who invested $293,000 into the scam.

To avoid taking a loss when BitConnect
collapsed
in early 2018, Bhatt (right) took matters into his own hands.

As per
criminal charges filed against Bhatt
under India’s Prevention of Money Laundering Act;

[Bhatt]  kidnapped two of Kumbhani’s employees and extorted 2,091 Bitcoins, 11,000 LiteCoins and Rs 14.50 crore in cash to release them.

“Kumbhani” refers to BitConnect’s founder, Satish Kumbhani (right).

After paying off his accomplices to the tune of ~$34.4 million, Bhatt spent the extortion proceeds on real-estate, gold and “other assets”.

Back in 2018 Bhatt
filed a criminal complaint of his own
, alleging Amreli police officers had kidnapped and extorted $1.3 million out of him.

Bhatt was arrested on August 13th and after being presented before court, was remanded to the custody of the Enforcement Directorate.

Satish Kumbhani has been arrested twice by Indian authorities but both times was released on bail.

After being released, Kumbhani promptly fled the country. Following his second 2019 arrest, Kumbhani is believed to have again 
fled to Dubai
.

Kumbhani remains wanted by Indian authorities. He has also been 
indicted in the US
 and has an open arrest warrant out on him.

🤖 Quick Answer

Who is Shailesh Bhatt and why was he arrested in Ahmedabad?
Shailesh Bubulal Bhatt is a former BitConnect investor who was arrested in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, on charges related to extortion and money laundering. After BitConnect collapsed in early 2018, Bhatt allegedly kidnapped two employees of BitConnect founder Satish Kumbhani and extorted approximately $146 million in cryptocurrencies and cash.

How much did Shailesh Bhatt originally invest in BitConnect?
Shailesh Bhatt invested approximately $293,000 into BitConnect, a cryptocurrency platform later identified as a fraudulent scheme. When BitConnect collapsed in early 2018, Bhatt reportedly resorted to criminal means to recover and exceed his original investment rather than accepting financial losses from the platform's shutdown.

**What assets did Sh

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