An Indian court has handed down life sentences to 14 people, including a former Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) legislator, in one of the country’s most notorious crypto-related crimes. The ruling closes a high-profile case that exposed deep ties between politics, law enforcement, and the criminal underworld.
The Verdict: Life in Prison
On Monday, a special court in Ahmedabad convicted Nalin Kotadiya, a former BJP member of the Gujarat legislative assembly, and Jagdish Patel, a former Indian Police Service officer, along with 12 others. One defendant was acquitted.
Former BJP MLA Nalin Kotadiya, ex-IPS officer Jagdish Patel, and 12 others have been sentenced to life imprisonment in a 2018 bitcoin extortion and builder kidnapping case that involved police officers and high-profile conspirators.
— IndiaToday (@IndiaToday) August 29, 2025
The City Sessions Court's ACB Special Court… pic.twitter.com/9qQPFVZEzn
The case dates back to 2018, when businessman and crypto trader Shailesh Bhatt was kidnapped in Surat. The attackers extorted 200 bitcoins from him—worth roughly ₹12 crore ($1.5 million at the time)—and demanded an additional ₹32 crore in cash.
How the Plot Unfolded
According to court documents and media reports, Bhatt was lured to a meeting by men posing as agents from India’s Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). Instead, he was abducted from a gas station and taken to a farmhouse using official government vehicles.
The extortion was not a random crime. Investigators later found that Bhatt himself had earlier stolen bitcoins worth ₹150 crore from another trader, Dhawal Mawani. When Kotadiya and others learned of this, they allegedly conspired to target Bhatt for a share of the digital fortune.
Cops, Politicians, and a Web of Corruption
What began as a kidnapping quickly grew into a corruption scandal. Gujarat’s Criminal Investigation Department (CID) discovered that 10 police officers, including senior officer Anant Patel, were directly involved. A local lawyer, Ketan Patel, was also charged.
During interrogations, evidence surfaced linking Kotadiya and Jagdish Patel to the scheme. Kotadiya initially went into hiding, forcing the court to issue a non-bailable warrant before his eventual arrest.
The investigation even touched the real CBI: Inspector Sunil Nair was accused of demanding a bribe from Bhatt while threatening him with an official probe.
Why This Case Matters
The life sentences mark one of the toughest punishments for a crypto-linked crime in India. More importantly, the verdict underscores how digital assets can become entangled with corruption at the highest levels of politics and policing.
For India’s crypto community, the case is a stark reminder of the risks of operating in a regulatory gray zone, where both criminals and corrupt officials can exploit the lack of oversight.
The ruling also sends a broader message: courts are willing to impose severe penalties when cryptocurrency is used as a tool for fraud, extortion, or money laundering.
