Crypto Execs Appear In Court Following Extradition In $1Mln Fraud Probe
India-West News Desk
OAKLAND, CA – Three Indian nationals, including the leadership of the cryptocurrency firm Contrarian, made their initial appearances in a federal court in Oakland on March 30, following their extradition from Singapore to face charges for an international market manipulation scheme. The court appearance comes after a sweeping undercover investigation by the FBI and IRS that has already led to over $1 million in seized assets and multiple guilty pleas from foreign executives.
The defendants from India—Manu Singh, 34, CEO of Contrarian; Kushagra Srivastava, CFO; Vasu Sharma, 26, a business development associate; and Sabby Singh, an executive at partner firm Antier Solutions—are accused of orchestrating “pump-and-dump” schemes. Federal prosecutors allege the group conspired to artificially inflate the trading volume and market price of cryptocurrency tokens to lure unsuspecting investors, only to liquidate their own holdings at the peak of the manipulation.
According to court documents, the FBI’s investigation utilized undercover cryptocurrency tokens to expose how these “market makers” operated. The four Indian nationals allegedly engaged in wash trading, a deceptive practice where the same party acts as both buyer and seller in the same transaction to create a false impression of organic market activity. While the scheme was global in scope, its impact reached investors across the United States and several other countries.
The legal proceedings moved to U.S. soil after Manu Singh and Vasu Sharma were arrested in Singapore on October 2, 2025, at the request of U.S. authorities. Following their extradition, both men were brought before a U.S. Magistrate Judge on March 30 and currently remain in federal custody.
They are part of a larger group of 10 foreign nationals from firms including Gotbit, Vortex, and Antier who have been indicted in the operation.
Under federal law, the charges of wire fraud and wire fraud conspiracy carry severe penalties. If convicted, each defendant faces a maximum of 20 years in prison and a fine of $250,000 per violation.
