British courts have advanced the former Chief Executive Officer of Saitama, Manpreet Kohli, in extradition proceedings against the United States. According to Reuters, Judge Samuel Goozee dismissed Kohli ' s plea on 19 August and referred the case to the British Government for a further decision on the United States extradition request.
Kohli is still open for further appeal, and therefore extradition has not yet been finalized. He is currently on bail at Pound200,000, or approximately US$ 27.24 million. It is also mentioned that Kohli has not yet been convicted.
No support for the extradition plea
Kohli had previously opposed extradition on the grounds, inter alia, of fear of his mental health during his detention in the United States and the possible risk of suicide. In the judge ' s view, the relevant safeguards were sufficient to limit the risk to an acceptable level during the transfer process and in the United States prison system, and this defence was not admitted.
This progress was preceded earlier this month by a decision of the Boston Federal Court against Kohli. The local judge rejected his application for the annulment of the indictment. Kohli then argued that the Saitama token could not be recognized as a security under United States law.
U.S. allegations related to token manipulation
The case originated from a previous investigation by the United States Department of Justice into encryption market manipulation. On 9 October 2024, two days after Kohli's arrest in London, the United States Department of Justice published the indictment under Operation Token Mirrors, accusing the persons concerned of fraud and scavengering.
So-called scavenging transactions are those that repeatedly buy and sell the same asset through multiple accounts or act in concert with others to create false trade and market activity, rather than being driven by real transaction demand.
The prosecution claims to have earned about $20 million.
According to the United States Department of Justice, 18 persons, including Kohli, had coordinated the purchase of tokens between wallets and paid ZM Quant and Gotbit to carry out a washing transaction on various exchanges. The prosecution also claims that these executives, while publicly denying the sale of the warehouse and selling the tokens privately, offered millions of dollars.
The prosecution alleges that Kohli personally earned approximately $20 million. It was also mentioned that Gotbit, a marketer, had since admitted to manipulating the price and turnover of coins for customers, including Saitama. In June 2025, Gotbit was sentenced to 23 million dollars and its founder, Aleksei Andrianin, to 8 months ' imprisonment.