Exclusive: Price manipulation scam costs Bengaluru crypto firm Eclipton nearly ₹1 crore
Bengaluru
A Bengaluru-based crypto derivatives trading platform has found a coordinated cyber-fraud operation in which three users allegedly manipulated digital asset prices by executing trades at grossly abnormal rates, enabling them to withdraw over ₹35.7 lakh in real money and attempt unlawful gains estimated at nearly ₹1 crore, according to a police complaint.
A complaint filed by Eclipton Technologies Private Limited, a company registered with the Ministry of Corporate Affairs, reveals how its fiat-settled crypto derivatives platform, cosmic.trade, was systematically abused through price manipulation and collusive trading. The FIR was registered a few days back at East CEN police station.
The company operates from Embassy Golf Links Road, Challaghatta, Bengaluru, and allows users to trade crypto-based derivative contracts in Indian Rupees through an electronic, order-book-driven system.
According to the complaint, the platform maintains comprehensive internal controls, including detailed order books, trade logs, ledger entries, withdrawal histories, IP address records and device data, to ensure audit readiness, compliance and fraud detection. It was through these monitoring mechanisms that the alleged fraud was detected.
Timeline of the alleged offence
The FIR states that the fraudulent activity occurred primarily between December 31, 2025, and January 1, 2026, when the accused allegedly executed manipulated trades. This was followed by a withdrawal phase extending from December 31, 2025, to January 7, 2026, during which money was transferred out of the platform.
During this period, a total amount of ₹35,72,421 was transferred from the company’s Karur Vysya Bank account to bank accounts linked to the accused persons. Investigators believe these transfers represent withdrawals of artificially generated profits rather than legitimate trading gains.
Modus operandi: abnormal pricing and manipulation
The FIR indicates that the accused placed and executed repeated limit orders at prices that deviated sharply from prevailing market rates, ranging from –68% to +30% compared to the correct market price. These trades were carried out across multiple crypto derivative pairs, including widely traded assets such as Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH) and Dogecoin (DOGE).
The complaint notes that many of the prices at which trades were executed had not existed in the crypto market for months or even years, ruling out normal market volatility or sudden price swings. By exploiting order-book mechanics and executing coordinated trades at these incorrect prices, the accused allegedly created false and misleading price signals within the platform.
This manipulation, the company claims, resulted in artificial inflation of account balances, allowing the accused to convert fictitious profits into real INR withdrawals. The complainant has categorically stated that the gains were not generated through leverage, arbitrage or legitimate high-risk trading strategies.
Accused and alleged collusion
The FIR identifies Abhisek Sahoo as the primary accused, who onboarded onto the platform on December 16, 2025. Despite depositing only ₹18,600, he allegedly withdrew ₹6.13 lakh within a short span. His trading activity was linked to a known IP address and a State Bank of India account used for receiving the funds.
Two other users — Zeeshan Ali Mir and Shashank Singh Chandel — have been named as second and third accused. Mir, who joined the platform on December 22, 2025, deposited ₹60,610 and allegedly withdrew ₹19.15 lakh. Chandel, who onboarded on December 17, 2025, deposited ₹56,000 and withdrew ₹10.43 lakh.
According to the complainant’s forensic analysis, all three accounts showed similar and synchronised trading patterns, closely aligned timestamps and behavioural indicators consistent with collusive activity rather than independent trading. The company has alleged that the accused acted in concert to exploit the platform’s order-matching system.
Attempt to scale up the fraud
After successfully withdrawing significant sums, the accused allegedly attempted to execute even larger manipulated trades using the same techniques. The complaint states that if these trades had gone through, the artificial profits could have exceeded ₹4 crore.
However, the platform’s risk management systems detected the pattern in time. The attempted transactions were blocked before execution, preventing further financial damage.
Upon identifying the irregular activity, Eclipton Technologies said it immediately:
- Flagged the suspicious user accounts
- Blocked all further withdrawals linked to the accused
- Preserved complete trade logs, order histories, IP data and device records
- Secured banking transaction trails for law enforcement
The company’s analysis, included as part of the complaint, concludes that the profits were generated solely through fraudulent price manipulation and not through any legitimate trading activity.
Police action and investigation
The FIR has been registered under provisions relating to cheating, criminal conspiracy and cyber-enabled economic offences. The complaint was read over and explained to the complainant, who was provided a copy free of cost, as required by law.