Bitcoins worth $3.1mn stolen from Indian cryptocurrency exchange Coinsecure

Coinsecure has filed an FIR with the cyber cell accusing its CSO Amitabh Saxena of siphoning of the money from the firm’s wallet

Nearly 438 bitcoins worth over INR 20 crore (US$3.1 million) were stolen from a leading crypto currency exchange in India, according to reports.

According to the police investigating the case, this is the biggest ever cryptocurrency theft in the country so far.

The police have seized the servers of Delhi-based Coinsecure to ascertain the extent of the system breach. The investigation will also look into whether the wallets of the users have been compromised.

Coinsecure has filed an FIR with the cyber cell accusing its CSO, Amitabh Saxena, of siphoning of the money from the firm’s wallet. The exchange has urged the government to seize Saxena’s passport, fearing that he may leave the country.

A case has registered under IPC sections and Section 66 of the IT Act.

In a message on its website, the company said:

“Dear Users, We regret to inform you that our Bitcoin funds have been exposed and seem to have been siphoned out to an address that is outside our control. Our system itself has never been compromised or hacked, and the current issue points towards losses caused during an exercise to extract BTG to distribute to our customers. Our CSO, Dr. Amitabh Saxena, was extracting BTG and he claims that funds have been lost in the process during the extraction of the private keys.

An FIR has been lodged with the Cyber Cell, Delhi (copy of the complaint enclosed), and we have expert investigators already on the case.

We are working round the clock to restore services and to try and recover all of the lost funds, and we shall keep all our users posted on the outcome of the details to ensure utmost transparency.

Coinsecure has always been a progressive company, and we have proven our commitment towards that. Our Android and iOS apps were recently launched, and we were at the cusp of moving into a multi-coin architecture before this incident.

We are hoping that as users of Coinsecure, you will stand by us in this hour of need by providing us with your help and support as we diligently work to ensure that all of our customers’ funds are recovered and to leave no stone unturned. Irrespective of funds being recovered, we re-assure all our customers that you will be indemnified from our personal funds.

We again take this opportunity to thank you for your continued support and cooperation.
Warm Regards, Team Coinsecure.