According to the Department of Justice, Ishan Wahi, former product manager for Coinbase, was detained on Thursday morning because of an insider trading scheme while he was working at Coinbase.

The assistant director of the FBI explained that the defendants managed to generate illicit gains of over $1.5 million by utilizing insider information to trade over 25 different cryptocurrencies as Ishan was privy and integral to assets listed on the platform. 

Ishan, his brother Nikhil Wahi and Sameer Ramini worked together to commit “fraud conspiracy and wire fraud in connection with a scheme to commit insider training in cryptocurrency assets by using confidential Coinbase information about which crypto assets were scheduled to be listed on Coinbase’s exchanges,” according to the Department of Justice. 

This is the first instance of an arrest for insider trading within the cryptocurrency industry. U.S. Attorney Damian Williams reminds the participants of the ecosystem with some words of caution. “Today’s charges are a further reminder that Web3 is not a law-free zone…” and adds “Our message with these charges is clear: fraud is fraud is fraud, whether it occurs on the blockchain or on Wall Street.”

Ishan’s brother Nikhil was also arrested Thursday morning, however, their accomplice Ramini remains at large.

Share this article
The link has been copied!