Manpreet Kohli, the British-based former chief executive of cryptocurrency company Saitama, faces extradition to the US after a UK judge rejected his challenge on August 19 over charges of wire fraud and market manipulation.
Kohli, a 45-year-old Indian national, led Saitama, which promoted a token built on the Ethereum blockchain that reached a market value of around $7.5 billion. US prosecutors allege that Kohli and more than a dozen co-defendants falsely claimed to be buying and holding Saitama tokens while privately selling them for millions of dollars in profits.
The US allegations followed an FBI investigation in which the agency created a digital token to investigate suspected cryptocurrency crime, marking the first time it had used such a method. Prosecutors allege Kohli personally made around $20 million from the scheme.
Kohli was arrested in London in 2024 and has opposed extradition, including on grounds that insufficient safeguards would be available to protect him from taking his own life while in US custody. Judge Samuel Goozee rejected that argument and referred the case to British ministers for a decision on whether to order his extradition.
In his August 19 ruling, Goozee said: “I find there are clearly appropriate arrangements in place both during transit and within the prison system in the US to be able to cope with (Kohli’s) mental health and reduce the risk of suicide to an acceptable level.”
Kohli remains on £200,000 bail and can appeal against the extradition ruling. His US lawyer did not immediately respond to a request for comment, while Kohli could not be contacted.
Earlier in August, a federal judge in Boston rejected Kohli’s attempt to have the US indictment dismissed on the grounds that the Saitama token could not legally be classified as a security subject to US securities law. Kohli’s extradition will now be considered by British ministers, with the decision potentially determining whether he is sent to the US to face trial.
