Bitcoin kiosk shut down in Bengaluru, cops arrest co-owner

Harish BV, the co-founder of Unocoin which had installed the kiosk, was arrested on Tuesday and was later produced before a magistrate, who remanded him in police custody.

A bitcoin kiosk that was opened in the city last week was closed down on Tuesday and the co-founder of the company that installed it was arrested by the police, who said the requisite permissions had not been taken by the company. Harish BV, the cofounder of Unocoin, which had installed the kiosk was arrested on Tuesday for allegedly facilitating illegal transactions. He was later produced before a magistrate, who remanded him in police custody.

Representations of the Ripple, Bitcoin, Etherum and Litecoin virtual currencies are seen on a PC motherboard in this illustration picture. (Reuters File Photo)

“The kiosk was set up without any of the requisite permissions either from the government or the Reserve Bank of India,” said Alok Kumar, Additional Commissioner of Police (Crime). The police had launched an investigation after the company set up the kiosk, Kumar said.

“We have booked him under section 420 of the Indian Penal Code and also under provisions of the Information Technology Act,” Kumar said. According to the police, Harish is the Chief Financial and Compliance Officer of Unocoin, and hails from Tumakaru. The police said they recovered two laptops, and Rs 1.7 lakh from him, among other things.

Union finance minister Arun Jaitley had said in his Budget speech earlier this year that crypto-currency was not recognised as legal tender. “The government does not consider crypto currencies as legal tender or coin and (will) take all measures to eliminate the use of crypto assets,” he had said.

HT could not reach Unocoin for comments on the developments.