Key facts
- Manpreet Kohli, CEO of cryptocurrency firm Saitama, lost his legal challenge against extradition to the US.
- Kohli faces US charges of wire fraud and market manipulation.
- Prosecutors allege Saitama executives used coordinated purchases and paid market makers to inflate the token’s activity.
- A UK judge ruled that appropriate measures are in place to manage Kohli's mental health and suicide risk during transit and in US custody.
- The decision has been referred to British ministers for a final extradition order.
- Kohli remains free on £200,000 bail and can appeal the ruling.
A UK judge has rejected Manpreet Kohli's bid to avoid extradition to the United States, where he faces charges tied to an alleged crypto market-manipulation scheme. Judge Samuel Goozee rejected Kohli’s challenge on August 19 and sent the case to the U.K. government for a decision on the U.S. extradition request. Kohli can appeal the ruling, so his extradition is not yet final, and he remains free on £200,000, about $272,400, bail.
U.S. prosecutors have charged Kohli with wire fraud, market manipulation, related conspiracy offenses, and operating an unlicensed money-transmitting business. The charges concern Saitama, an Ethereum-based token that once reached a reported market capitalization of $7.5 billion.
Kohli challenged extradition in part by arguing that U.S. authorities could not adequately address his mental health and risk of suicide in custody. Judge Goozee found that safeguards during his transfer and within the U.S. prison system could reduce that risk to an acceptable level.
The extradition decision follows a separate ruling in Boston earlier this month, where a federal judge rejected Kohli’s attempt to have the indictment dismissed after he argued that the Saitama token could not legally be classified as a security under U.S. law.
Kohli’s case stems from an earlier case targeting alleged crypto market manipulation. On October 9, 2024—two days after Kohli’s arrest in London—the Justice Department announced charges under “Operation Token Mirrors,” an investigation into alleged fraud and wash trading, or coordinated transactions designed to create artificial volume. Prosecutors allege that the executives publicly denied selling their holdings while privately offloading tokens for millions of dollars. They say Kohli made approximately $20 million.