Ishan Wahi, former product manager of cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase, has been arrested in the US. The Justice Department said it was charged with fraud using insider trading.

According to a press release, law enforcement also arrested his brother Nikhil Wahi and blamed Samir Ramani. All three face sentences of up to 20 years in prison.

“[Подозреваемые] Conspired to commit electronic fraud and crypto-assets insider trading fraud using Coinbase’s confidential information regarding a scheduled listing on an exchange,” the publication says.

The prosecution noted that Ishana Wahi had access to data regarding the process of listing cryptocurrencies on the platform. Specifically, he knew when the company was planning to make relevant public announcements and open trading.

According to investigators, between June 2021 and April 2022, the former employee of the exchange forwarded this confidential information to his brother and Ramani at least 14 times. Secondly, he entered transactions with the aim of making a profit.

“After getting advice from Ishan Wahi, [другие подозреваемые] Coinbase used anonymous Ethereum wallets to purchase cryptocurrencies shortly before making its staking plans public or listing these assets on its platform. […] As a result of their insider trading scheme, they have made realized and unrealized profits totaling at least $1.5 million in total.”

Investigators revealed that the suspects used accounts on centralized exchanges registered with candidates to hide traces of criminal activity.

In April 2022, influencer Cobie discovered an address that invested “hundreds of thousands of dollars” in tokens listed on the Coinbase Asset List, 24 hours prior to release.

Story for the ages pic.twitter.com/oMlr8FM70d

– cobie (@cobie) 21 July 2022

After that, Coinbase COO invited Wahi to a “personal meeting,” according to a press release. The latter confirmed his intention to appear, but the next day he tried to flee the country – this was thwarted by law enforcement, who had already followed him.

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission also filed similar charges against the suspects.

Recall that in May 2022, the analytical company Argus reported that a group of unknown investors made significant profits using insider information about upcoming listings on Binance, Coinbase and FTX cryptocurrency exchanges.

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