Gujarat High Court refuses bail to accused in cyber fraud and money laundering case involving mule accounts and USDT conversions, citing gravity of economic offence despite JMFC trial jurisdiction.
Gujarat HC Denies Bail in Cyber Fraud and Money Laundering Case
The Gujarat High Court has denied bail to an accused involved in a cyber fraud and money laundering racket utilizing mule bank accounts and conversion of illicit funds into USDT (a stablecoin). The Court rejected the argument that the offences being triable by a Judicial Magistrate First Class (JMFC) warranted bail.
The Court emphasized the seriousness of economic offences involving digital assets and inter-state financial fraud. The use of layered transactions and cryptocurrency to obfuscate illicit proceeds underscored the need for custodial investigation and preservation of evidence.
This ruling signals judicial reluctance to grant bail in technology-enabled financial crimes, even where jurisdictional sentencing limits apply. Practitioners should expect heightened scrutiny in bail applications involving cryptocurrency and cross-border digital transactions.
