What’s going on with BitConnect representatives

Official documents from the government agency treat the BitConnect platform as a pyramid scheme, in which its creators “made” money just by recruiting new users. Kumbhani, 36, misled investors about BitConnect’s “credit platform” by advertising allegedly proprietary technology – including a “BitConnect trading bot” and “volatility software”.

As a reminder, BitConnect did meet the definition of a pyramid scheme. The project promised its users a very high income on a permanent basis, but they were required to attract more and more users in the form of their friends, family or acquaintances. The platform eventually collapsed in January 2018, with its representatives still to be dealt with.

Satish Kumbhani suspect

Read also: A criminal case has been filed against the promoters of cryptocurrency financial pyramid BitConnect.

The Bitconnect platform itself was launched in 2016 and quickly gained popularity among many crypto enthusiasts. All thanks to a massive advertising campaign on social media and YouTube. The rise of the HYIP coincided with an active period when the project’s tokens rose to an all-time high of around $463.31. However, some time later – after suspicions and prosecution of fraudsters – the tokens almost completely depreciated to $0.67.

BitConnect token collapse

According to news outlet Decrypt, Kumbhani is accused of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, conspiracy to manipulate the price of goods, operating an unlicensed money transfer business and conspiracy to launder money internationally.

The suspect himself allegedly claimed that the BitConnect trading bot and platform software could generate significant profits for investors. The project guaranteed high interest rates on deposits in a very short period of time, with customer returns initially generated by new users. As we have already noted, this has the hallmarks of a classic pyramid scheme.

For deposits over $10,000 BitConnect promised a full payback within 120 days

On top of all this, the former BitConnect member is also accused of hiding and laundering cryptocurrency transactions. According to the ministry, Kumbhani went to great lengths to enable BitConnect's senior management to evade justice.

Note that the scandals in the coin industry did not end there. In particular, the Associated Press (AP) has cancelled the auction of an NFT token associated with a video about migrants. It depicts people on an overcrowded boat trying to cross the Mediterranean Sea. The auction sparked a wave of outrage from many critics, who accused the AP of “profiting from human suffering”. Because of this, it was decided to abandon the sale of the token.

What happens to NFT tokens

The auction announcement was accompanied by the following quote published by news portal Decrypt.

Tomorrow night’s auction at the AP Photography NFT Marketplace EST includes a video by journalist Felipe Dana about migrants crossing the Mediterranean Sea in a crowded boat.

Already deleted AP tweet announcing NFT

The announcement received a lot of negative comments on Twitter, so after a while it was deleted along with the official cancellation of the auction. AP representatives had to publicly apologise. Here’s a quote from AP media relations and corporate communications director Lauren Easton

It was an unfortunate choice of content for the NFT. It has not and will not be auctioned off. A tweet promoting it has also been deleted.

As well as criticising one unique token, commentators have also turned their attention to the entire NFT-like distribution platform, where the Associated Press sells other high-profile photos as unique tokens. The idea should be seen as “inhumane and scary”, also the platform should be shut down altogether, critics say. That is, in their view, the publication should not make any money at all from journalistic stories that feature human suffering.

AP apology

To recall, the platform was launched at the end of January. Through it, AP has actually monetised many of its celebrity stories, which have even been awarded the Pulitzer Prize. The AP Photography NFT Marketplace is powered by Polygon, an Ethereum-based sidechain project. By the end it looks like AP management is listening to the criticism, as it recently announced a “reassessment of the platform’s development priorities”.


We think the initiative by AP representatives does deserve criticism, as making money off of someone else's woes - albeit in the form of digital assets - sounds ridiculous. Perhaps journalists did intend to donate the proceeds to charity, but they clearly should have been warned about it in advance. If they had, the reaction of the community would probably have been different.