Nepal Police Arrest Two Bitcoin Exchange Operators In Cryptocurrency Crackdown

Nepal’s national investigative agency arrested the founders of bitcoin exchange Bitsewain an on-going crackdown in the country, Cryptocoinsnews .com reported Tuesday.

The Himalayan reported last week the Central Investigation Bureau of Nepal Police arrested Ram Dhakal, 32, and Pursottam Dhar Tuladhar, 26, for “allegedly operating a bitcoin racket in Kathmandu and Pokhara under the cloak of [an] online technology business,” the report said.

The pair are founders of Bitsewa Pvt Ltd., a cryptocurrency exchange that supports trading of multiple digital currencies and the provider of a bitcoin wallet service in the country, the report said.

Since Nepal has not enacted any bitcoin laws or regulations, cryptocurrency-related exchange businesses are considered ‘illegal,’ according to a notice published by Nepal’s central bank.

Bitsewa, which calls itself “Nepal’s first and most popular digital assets exchange supporting many blockchain assets such as Bitcoin, Litecoin, Ethereum, Ripple, DASH…” has been taken offline, the report said. However, Bitsewa continues to see a presence on Facebook, where it revealed the shuttering of operations due to the central bank’s hardline stance.

The two arrests are a part of a wider, ongoing crackdown by Nepal’s police on bitcoin exchange operators in the country, the report said. Earlier in October, the investigation bureau arrested seven operators in various parts of Nepal.

When the October arrests occurred, Bitsewa wrote: “Nepal Rastra Bank officially declared bitcoin illegal in Nepal taking strict measures such as arresting bitcoin exchange operators.”

– WN.com, Jack Durschlag