05-11-2023, 06:03 AM
Ex-Coinbase Staffer Bags 2-Year Jail Term for Insider Trading Plot
<p class="MsoNormal">Ishan Wahi,
a former Product Manager at Coinbase, has been sentenced to two years
imprisonment in a case US prosecutors called the country's first-ever cryptocurrency
insider trading case. Thirty-two-year-old Ishan Wahi from Washington received the jail
term for tipping off his brother and friend on multiple occasions with
confidential information about Coinbase’s upcoming token listings.</p><p class="MsoNormal">With the
information, Wahi’s brother, Nikhil Wahi, and friend, Sameer Ramani made
over $1.1 million from trading ahead of Coinbase’s public announcements,
according to the US securities regulator which <a href="https://www.financemagnates.com/cryptocurrency/us-sec-charges-former-coinbase-employee-in-crypto-insider-trading-plot/" target="_blank" rel="follow">filed charges against
the three individuals</a> in July last year. The US Department of Justice (DOJ) <a href="https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdny/press-release/file/1521186/download" target="_blank" rel="follow">charged the individuals</a> in the same month with conspiracy to commit wire fraud.</p><p class="MsoNormal">Coinbase's Former Employee Pleads Guilty</p><p class="MsoNormal">The DOJ <a href="https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdny/pr/former-coinbase-insider-sentenced-first-ever-cryptocurrency-insider-trading-case" target="_blank" rel="follow">announced</a> Ishan Wahi's fate on Tuesday, noting that he was
sentenced by US District Judge Loretta Preska. However, prosecutors did not
comment on the fate of Nikhil Wahi and Sameer Ramani.</p><p class="MsoNormal">The
sentence comes over three months after Ishan Wahi pleaded guilty to two counts of
conspiracy to commit wire fraud. The confession contradicts the former Coinbase staffer's claim in 2022 that he was not guilty of any wrongdoing. </p><p class="MsoNormal">“Today’s
sentence should send a strong signal to all participants in the cryptocurrency
markets that the laws decidedly do apply to them,” said Damian Williams, the US
Attorney for the Southern District of New York. </p><p class="MsoNormal">"[The district] will
hold those who engage in insider trading to full account, regardless of whether
their illegal conduct occurs in the equity markets or in the market for crypto
assets," added Williams.</p><p class="MsoNormal text-align-justify">Wahi Arrested While Trying to Flee to India</p><p class="MsoNormal">According
to prosecutors, Coinbase, the largest crypto exchange in the United States,
required its employees to keep secret confidential information about its
planned new crypto asset listings. However, Ishan Wahi, who started working at
Coinbase with the asset listing team in 2020, breached “his duties
of trust and confidence,” prosecutors said.</p><p class="MsoNormal text-align-justify">In addition, prosecutors noted that Coinbase started investigating the case on April 12, 2022,
after a Twitter account popular within the crypto circle tweeted about an
Ethereum blockchain wallet “that bought hundreds of thousands of dollars of
tokens exclusively featured in the Coinbase Asset Listing post about 24 hours
before it was published.” </p><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">An update on our asset listing processes.We review assets as thoroughly and quickly as possible, listing everything we can safely and legally list.There's always more we can do to improve our asset listing process. Read more here: <a href="https://t.co/pEAeHk9JGr">https://t.co/pEAeHk9JGr</a>??...</p>— Coinbase ?️ (@coinbase) <a href="https://twitter.com/coinbase/status/1519783441297932288?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 28, 2022</a></blockquote><p class="MsoNormal text-align-justify">Prosecutors
noted that allegations in the indictment and statements made during court
proceedings put forward that the tweet referred to trading previously done by
Ranami based on a tip off from Ishan Wahi.</p><p class="MsoNormal text-align-justify">The DOJ’s
statement further noted that Coinbase during the course of its investigation
invited Wahi for ‘an in-person meeting’ related to its asset listing process.
However, rather than show up for the meeting, Wahi booked a one-way flight to
India and was due to take off hours before he was to appear at the meeting venue on May 16, 2022.</p><p class="MsoNormal text-align-justify">“In the
hours between booking the flight and his scheduled departure, Wahi called and
texted Nikhil Wahi and Ramani about Coinbase’s investigation and sent both of
them a photograph of the messages he had received on May 11, 2022, from
Coinbase’s Director of Security Operations,” the DOJ explained in the statement.</p><p class="MsoNormal text-align-justify">Wahi was
arrested on the same day (May 16) before he could board the flight to India. In addition to the sentencing, the ex-Coinbase employee was ordered to forfeit various crypto assets he received in connection with the insider trading plot. </p><p class="MsoNormal">LSEG taps OpenFin; new eToro portfolio; <a href="https://www.financemagnates.com/forex/news-nuggets-9-may-lseg-taps-openfin-new-etoro-portfolio/" target="_blank" rel="follow">read today's news nuggets</a>.</p>
This article was written by Solomon Oladipupo at www.financemagnates.com.
https://www.financemagnates.com//cryptoc...ding-plot/
<p class="MsoNormal">Ishan Wahi,
a former Product Manager at Coinbase, has been sentenced to two years
imprisonment in a case US prosecutors called the country's first-ever cryptocurrency
insider trading case. Thirty-two-year-old Ishan Wahi from Washington received the jail
term for tipping off his brother and friend on multiple occasions with
confidential information about Coinbase’s upcoming token listings.</p><p class="MsoNormal">With the
information, Wahi’s brother, Nikhil Wahi, and friend, Sameer Ramani made
over $1.1 million from trading ahead of Coinbase’s public announcements,
according to the US securities regulator which <a href="https://www.financemagnates.com/cryptocurrency/us-sec-charges-former-coinbase-employee-in-crypto-insider-trading-plot/" target="_blank" rel="follow">filed charges against
the three individuals</a> in July last year. The US Department of Justice (DOJ) <a href="https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdny/press-release/file/1521186/download" target="_blank" rel="follow">charged the individuals</a> in the same month with conspiracy to commit wire fraud.</p><p class="MsoNormal">Coinbase's Former Employee Pleads Guilty</p><p class="MsoNormal">The DOJ <a href="https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdny/pr/former-coinbase-insider-sentenced-first-ever-cryptocurrency-insider-trading-case" target="_blank" rel="follow">announced</a> Ishan Wahi's fate on Tuesday, noting that he was
sentenced by US District Judge Loretta Preska. However, prosecutors did not
comment on the fate of Nikhil Wahi and Sameer Ramani.</p><p class="MsoNormal">The
sentence comes over three months after Ishan Wahi pleaded guilty to two counts of
conspiracy to commit wire fraud. The confession contradicts the former Coinbase staffer's claim in 2022 that he was not guilty of any wrongdoing. </p><p class="MsoNormal">“Today’s
sentence should send a strong signal to all participants in the cryptocurrency
markets that the laws decidedly do apply to them,” said Damian Williams, the US
Attorney for the Southern District of New York. </p><p class="MsoNormal">"[The district] will
hold those who engage in insider trading to full account, regardless of whether
their illegal conduct occurs in the equity markets or in the market for crypto
assets," added Williams.</p><p class="MsoNormal text-align-justify">Wahi Arrested While Trying to Flee to India</p><p class="MsoNormal">According
to prosecutors, Coinbase, the largest crypto exchange in the United States,
required its employees to keep secret confidential information about its
planned new crypto asset listings. However, Ishan Wahi, who started working at
Coinbase with the asset listing team in 2020, breached “his duties
of trust and confidence,” prosecutors said.</p><p class="MsoNormal text-align-justify">In addition, prosecutors noted that Coinbase started investigating the case on April 12, 2022,
after a Twitter account popular within the crypto circle tweeted about an
Ethereum blockchain wallet “that bought hundreds of thousands of dollars of
tokens exclusively featured in the Coinbase Asset Listing post about 24 hours
before it was published.” </p><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">An update on our asset listing processes.We review assets as thoroughly and quickly as possible, listing everything we can safely and legally list.There's always more we can do to improve our asset listing process. Read more here: <a href="https://t.co/pEAeHk9JGr">https://t.co/pEAeHk9JGr</a>??...</p>— Coinbase ?️ (@coinbase) <a href="https://twitter.com/coinbase/status/1519783441297932288?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 28, 2022</a></blockquote><p class="MsoNormal text-align-justify">Prosecutors
noted that allegations in the indictment and statements made during court
proceedings put forward that the tweet referred to trading previously done by
Ranami based on a tip off from Ishan Wahi.</p><p class="MsoNormal text-align-justify">The DOJ’s
statement further noted that Coinbase during the course of its investigation
invited Wahi for ‘an in-person meeting’ related to its asset listing process.
However, rather than show up for the meeting, Wahi booked a one-way flight to
India and was due to take off hours before he was to appear at the meeting venue on May 16, 2022.</p><p class="MsoNormal text-align-justify">“In the
hours between booking the flight and his scheduled departure, Wahi called and
texted Nikhil Wahi and Ramani about Coinbase’s investigation and sent both of
them a photograph of the messages he had received on May 11, 2022, from
Coinbase’s Director of Security Operations,” the DOJ explained in the statement.</p><p class="MsoNormal text-align-justify">Wahi was
arrested on the same day (May 16) before he could board the flight to India. In addition to the sentencing, the ex-Coinbase employee was ordered to forfeit various crypto assets he received in connection with the insider trading plot. </p><p class="MsoNormal">LSEG taps OpenFin; new eToro portfolio; <a href="https://www.financemagnates.com/forex/news-nuggets-9-may-lseg-taps-openfin-new-etoro-portfolio/" target="_blank" rel="follow">read today's news nuggets</a>.</p>
This article was written by Solomon Oladipupo at www.financemagnates.com.
https://www.financemagnates.com//cryptoc...ding-plot/