A British judge has rejected former Saitama CEO Manpreet Kohli’s attempt to block extradition to the United States, where he faces charges over an alleged crypto market-manipulation scheme. Judge Samuel Goozee rejected Kohli’s challenge on August 19 and sent the case to the U.K. government for a decision on the U.S. extradition request.
Kohli can still appeal the ruling, so his extradition is not yet final. He remains free on £200,000 bail, roughly $272,400. U.S. prosecutors have charged him with wire fraud, market manipulation, related conspiracy offenses, and operating an unlicensed money-transmitting business. The charges concern Saitama, an Ethereum-based token that once reached a reported market capitalization of $7.5 billion.
Kohli had argued that U.S. authorities could not adequately address his mental health and risk of suicide in custody. Judge Goozee found that safeguards during transfer and within the U.S. prison system could reduce that risk to an acceptable level. The extradition decision follows a separate ruling in Boston earlier this month, where a federal judge rejected Kohli’s attempt to have the indictment dismissed after he argued that the Saitama token could not legally be classified as a security under U.S. law.
The case stems from Operation Token Mirrors, announced on October 9, 2024, two days after Kohli’s arrest in London. According to the Justice Department, 18 individuals, including Kohli, coordinated token purchases across multiple wallets and paid ZM Quant and Gotbit to wash trade on several exchanges. Prosecutors allege that executives publicly denied selling their holdings while privately offloading tokens for millions of dollars. They say Kohli made approximately $20 million.
Gotbit later admitted to manipulating token prices and volumes for clients including Saitama. In June 2025, the company was ordered to forfeit $23 million, while founder Aleksei Andriunin was sentenced to eight months in prison.
