"The FIR is false and filed as a conspiracy" that was CoinDCX's blunt response after its co-founders were pulled in for questioning by Indian police over an alleged crypto fraud that the exchange insists has nothing to do with them.
What the Police Complaint Actually Claims
The case stems from a first information report (FIR) filed by a 42-year-old insurance consultant who says she lost approximately 71 lakh Indian rupees (roughly $75,000) after being directed to invest through what turned out to be a fake website impersonating CoinDCX. The complaint alleged criminal breach of trust and was filed with the Thane Police in India.
Here's the thing: there's already a reporting discrepancy worth noting. The Economic Times initially reported that co-founders Sumit Gupta and Neeraj Khandelwal had been arrested. Other outlets, including Entrackr, reported the pair were called in for questioning rather than formally arrested. The distinction matters, and as of the available reports, the questioning version appears to be the more accurate account.
CoinDCX's Version of Events
The exchange fired back quickly. In a statement posted to X, CoinDCX said the complaint was orchestrated by impersonators who posed as its founders, lured victims to a fraudulent site, and funneled money into third-party accounts that had zero connection to the actual exchange. The company was direct: this is not an internal failure, it's a targeted impersonation attack.
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CoinDCX stated it has reported more than 1,212 websites impersonating its coindcx.com domain between April 1, 2024, and January 5, 2026 - a staggering figure that underlines just how aggressively bad actors have been targeting the platform's brand.
The company also confirmed it is "fully cooperating with the relevant law enforcement authorities" while maintaining its focus on user education. For more context on how this case unfolded, this detailed breakdown of the FIR and exchange response lays out the sequence of events clearly.
A Platform That's Had a Rough Stretch
This isn't the first time CoinDCX has found itself in uncomfortable headlines. Back in July 2025, attackers breached an internal operational account and made off with roughly $44 million. The company was quick to note that customer assets were not affected, but the incident still landed CoinDCX among that month's biggest hacking victims by losses.
Founded in 2018 and headquartered in Mumbai, CoinDCX is one of India's most prominent crypto platforms. Coinbase Ventures backed the exchange in October 2025, pushing its valuation to around $2.45 billion. That kind of profile makes it an attractive target for impersonators.
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The Bigger Picture on Scams Hitting Indian Crypto Users
What most players in the space miss is just how widespread this problem has become. According to data from India's Ministry of Home Affairs, investment scams accounted for 76% of all financial losses in the country in 2025. That's not a niche problem, it's the dominant threat vector.
Globally, web3 platforms collectively lost around $3.95 billion to hacks and exploits across 2025. The CoinDCX impersonation case is one piece of a much larger pattern where established brand names get cloned, trust gets exploited, and real users pay the price.
Where This Case Goes Next
The investigation is ongoing, and the full picture is still developing. CoinDCX maintains it is the victim here, not the perpetrator, and the evidence it's cited (over 1,200 fake domains in under two years) does paint a picture of a company under sustained impersonation pressure. Whether the Thane Police investigation ultimately supports that framing remains to be seen.
For anyone navigating the web3 space right now, this case is a reminder that brand impersonation is one of the sharpest tools in a scammer's kit. Always verify URLs directly. The full Cointelegraph report on the CoinDCX founders being questioned has additional context as the story continues to develop. Make sure to check out more:
