Topic: [2018-11-08] Behind Bars: the Arrest of India’s First Bitcoin ‘ATM’ Operators (Read 101 times)

As much as we wanted to believed that this is the case, still there's no doubt in our minds that the arrest was due to the fact that they have been tightening their anti-bitcoin/crypto stance. This is just another guise but it makes sense if you see how India in the last 6 months has slowly showing their colors as to how they're going to take this new 'revolution'. If I'm not mistaken, India's 'demonetization' last year was to reduce the money flowing to the underground or black market, and they even hinted moving to digitized money. However, with this kind of move, it seems that they are moving backwards again. While majority of their neighbors sees bitcoin on a positive light, they seems to be taking a different approach.

It seems that the Indian government has begun to treat crypto with a tough attitude. Of course, perhaps they arrest Bitcoin ‘ATM’ Operators not because of bitcoin, but because private ATM business may be banned in India.
In many countries, ATM machines cannot be operated by individuals.

This because India has ordered a ban on cryptocurrency and this India's First Bitcoin ATM Operators just violate the law of ban. There is no wonder why one getting ban for in the first place India does not allow cryptocurrency in their own country. Because of this happening the local were asking to lift the ban for cryptocurrency for the people love to get involve in bitcoin.

Still, it is impossible for the government of India to lift the ban on crptocurrency. Read the full details here on why they do not like to lift the ban of cryptocurrency in this article https://qz.com/india/1319985/rbi-ban-on-indias-cryptocurrency-exchanges-will-remain-top-court-rules/.

It seems to me that the Indian government is giving a warning: "that they are serious when they forbid exchanges and banks from dealing with cryptos." and that their decision is to be respected and fulfilled. But here comes another point, why are they being so hard about cryptos? I see last month that Deputy Foreign Minister of India, M.J. Akbar, resigned his position to face charges of sexual harassment, this shows that the Indian government's problem is fear of crypto giving more freedom to its people

Innovation Behind Bars: the Arrest of India’s First Bitcoin ‘ATM’ Operators



Earlier in October, the developers of India’s first Bitcoin (BTC) “ATM” were arrested in the city of Bangalore under criminal charges, in a case that has shaken the local startup community and cast a spotlight on the lack of clarity surrounding “the law of the land” in regard to crypto.

While the official Freedom of Information Report (FIR), detailing the charges against the men, is not in the public domain, the mainstream media has reported that they were booked under serious criminal charges, including criminal conspiracy, cheating, and forgery.

From the gravity of the alleged charges, you’d be forgiven for assuming the suspects were deceitful fugitives, yet they are two of the co-founders of the country’s first cryptocurrency exchange, Unocoin. Described by Kashif Raza, of the local blockchain advisory duo “Crypto Kanoon,” as being among India’s “brightest” tech pioneers, and an “icon of the crypto industry.”

Their high-profile arrest and remand in police custody for seven days thus carries undeniable symbolic clout, perceived as being tantamount to putting innovation itself behind bars.

Cointelegraph spoke with Kashif Raza to unravel the story, as well as consulting with local cyber expert lawyer, Prashant Mali, whose periodic interjections, “yeh kahan se aa gaya?” (“where did this come from?”), encapsulate the local crypto community sentiment in the wake of the arrests.


Continue reading: https://cointelegraph.com/news/innovation-behind-bars-the-arrest-of-indias-first-bitcoin-atm-operators