Crypto Exchange Coinsecure Says Theft Probe Is Holding Up Refunds

Cryptocurrency exchange Coinsecure said it was not yet legally able to refund its customers due to an ongoing investigation.

AccessTimeIconMay 1, 2018 at 9:45 p.m. UTC
Updated Aug 18, 2021 at 8:58 p.m. UTC

Presented By Icon

Election 2024 coverage presented by

Stand with crypto

Coinsecure is still unable to repay its customers following a debilitating theft last month, the India-based cryptocurrency exchange said over the weekend.

The exchange – which lost nearly 440 bitcoins in mid-April in an incident that has been publicly blamed on a "rogue" employee –  announced on April 29 that while it previously hoped to begin returning customer funds by this point, it remains unable to do so because of a police investigation.

  • Bitcoin Mining in the U.S. Will Become 'a Lot More Decentralized': Core Scientific CEO
    13:18
    Bitcoin Mining in the U.S. Will Become 'a Lot More Decentralized': Core Scientific CEO
  • Binance to Discontinue Its Nigerian Naira Services After Government Scrutiny
    05:10
    Binance to Discontinue Its Nigerian Naira Services After Government Scrutiny
  • The first video of the year 2024
    04:07
    The first video of the year 2024
  • The last regression video of the year 3.67.0
    40:07
    The last regression video of the year 3.67.0
  • The statement continued:

    "When investigations are underway, we don't have much of a say and do need permissions from the authorities to start the compensation process, which we are yet to receive. We will update you when we have definite dates around the start of the process."

    New contracts will be issued to all customers for both Indian rupees and bitcoin, Coinsecure went on to write, without elaborating.

    Coinsecure previously blamed chief security officer Amitabh Saxena for allegedly exposing the exchange's private keys while trying to distribute bitcoin gold, a cryptocurrency offshoot of bitcoin, to customers, as previously reported. At the time, chief executive Mohit Kalra said "our customers will be indemnified from our company's funds," but cautioned it might take time to recover the stolen coins.

    The company later announced that if all of the stolen bitcoins were recovered, customers would be repaid fully in the cryptocurrency, but otherwise, they would be paid in a mix of bitcoins and rupees. In particular, Coinsecure announced that 90 percent of the funds would be repaid in rupees according to the price on April 9. At the time, the token was trading at under $7,000, but has rallied to just under $9,000 as of press time.

    "Please do bear with us as we are working on multiple fronts to resolve the issues at hand at the earliest for our users," this weekend's statement explained.

    Image via Shutterstock

    Disclosure

    Please note that our privacy policy, terms of use, cookies, and do not sell my personal information have been updated.

    CoinDesk is an award-winning media outlet that covers the cryptocurrency industry. Its journalists abide by a strict set of editorial policies. CoinDesk has adopted a set of principles aimed at ensuring the integrity, editorial independence and freedom from bias of its publications. CoinDesk is part of the Bullish group, which owns and invests in digital asset businesses and digital assets. CoinDesk employees, including journalists, may receive Bullish group equity-based compensation. Bullish was incubated by technology investor Block.one.


    Learn more about Consensus 2024, CoinDesk's longest-running and most influential event that brings together all sides of crypto, blockchain and Web3. Head to consensus.coindesk.com to register and buy your pass now.