Brother of former Coinbase employee pleads guilty to insider trading

Nihil Vahi, who, together with his brother Ishaan Vahi, a former Coinbase product manager, was charged with insider trading, pleaded guilty himself. He faces up to 20 years in prison.

The defendant agreed with the government’s theory that he traded on the basis of non-public information about a planned Coinbase listing of digital assets. According to Law360, Nihil Vahi will begin serving his sentence on December 13.

“I knew that it was wrong to obtain confidential information and trade on its basis,” he told the judge.

The defendant acknowledged that such a plea would be followed by deportation from the country.

His brother plans to challenge the charges. The defence contends that cryptocurrencies are not securities and, therefore, do not fall under insider-trading laws.

Prosecutor Noah Soloveichik stressed that the Department of Justice, in its filing, did not specify the status of the assets.

Hearings in Ishaan Vahi’s case are set for March 22. Samir Ramani, who was also charged in the scheme’s orchestration, is out on bail.

Earlier, the Vahi brothers were arrested in July 2022. The prosecutors noted that Ishaan had access to data when the company intended to make relevant public disclosures and commence trading. 

Between June 2021 and April 2022, the former exchange employee at least 14 times passed this confidential information to his brother and Ramani. 

Earlier, the OpenSea former employee Nathaniel Chastain disputed the court’s verdict. In June, the jurors found him guilty of fraud and money laundering.

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