The U.S.-based crypto exchange Coinbase’s former product manager,Ishan Wahi, has been sentenced to two years in prison in the first insider trading case involving crypto.
Wahi was charged with sharing confidential information about the new cryptocurrencies to be listed on Coinbase before the public announcement with his brother, Nikhil Wahi, and their friend, Sameer Ramani.
- The sentence was served by U.S. District Judge Loretta Preska in Manhattan federal court.
- Ishan Wahi was arrested in May while boarding a one-way flight to India and pleaded guilty to two counts in February.
- In September 2022, Nikhil Wahi also pleaded guilty to conducting trades based on confidential information obtained from his brother due to his position at the firm.
- Last month, the brother;was sentenced to;10 months in prison and $470,000 of restitution.
- Ishan Wahi asked the court not to serve him a prison sentence longer than his brother’s, citing the penalties in other insider trading cases, but the result has not been;parallel with his request.
- Wahi’s term of imprisonment will be followed by two years of supervised release, and the former executive is expected to be deported to his native India.
- Prosecutors said three defendants generated $1.5M of illegal profits by trading 55 digital assets between June 2021 and April 2022.
- Sameer Ramani is still on the loose.
- The leading;NFT;marketplace OpenSea’s former product manager,;Nathaniel Chastain, was also recently convicted of;wire fraud;and;money laundering;in an NFT-related insider trading case.
- In the lawsuit, the court ruled that Chastain used confidential information inside the company about the assets to be featured on the home page, gaining $50,000 in illegal profit by trading NFTs.