Coinbase secures $470,000 in its first insider trading case. The exchange has been awarded $470,000 in damages after winning an insider trading case.
Keynotes
- Coinbase exchange has been awarded $470,000 after winning an insider trading case.
- A former Coinbase employee’s brother has consented to pay Coinbase about $470,000.
Following a guilty plea in a Manhattan court, Coinbase was awarded nearly $470,000 in damages. The sibling of a former employee was accused of benefiting from an insider trading scheme.
After pleading guilty to charges linked to insider trading, Nikhil Wahi, the brother of former Coinbase product manager Ishan Wahi, was ordered to pay the sum to Coinbase in order for Coinbase to reimburse its legal fees and expenses in pursuing the case.
The information was revealed in a New York District Court file on April 6th, which was made public on April 10th.
Furthermore, Ishan Wahi, a manager at Coinbase, pleaded guilty to criminal charges. He would inform his brother of impending token listings, allowing him to purchase them before the inevitable pump.
Nikhil Wahi will have to make restitution payments while in prison. Nearly half a million dollars must be paid out within 20 years of Nikhil’s release and compensates for Coinbase’s legal fees associated with the Department of Justice’s investigation.
Nikhil acknowledged to making trades based on secret information obtained from his brother in September 2022. The individual was sentenced to ten months in prison on January 10th for wire fraud conspiracy charges, with news of the malicious act surfacing in late July 2022.
Furthermore, Coinbase co-founder and CEO Brian Armstrong claimed that the business promptly launched an inquiry after becoming aware of probable insider trading. He went on to say that the company had identified three individuals, one of whom was a former employee.
2/ As a result of our investigation we identified 3 suspects and provided this information to law enforcement. One person was a Coinbase employee who we terminated. Today, the DOJ has criminally charged this former employee and the two other individuals for this abusive conduct.
— Brian Armstrong (@brian_armstrong) July 21, 2022
Prosecutors discovered throughout their investigation that Ishan’s job at Coinbase gave him access to information about impending cryptocurrency listings on the crypto exchange, which he subsequently shared with his brother Nikhil and a mutual buddy, Sameer Ramani.
According to authorities, the newly listed cryptocurrency prices would typically rise, making a profit of $892,500 for Nikhil. It is worth mentioning that Nikhil will be required to reimburse these gains to the US government as part of his sentence.
