Nepal continues to crack down on Bitcoin, arrests operator of region's first Bitcoin company

Bitcoin exchanges and information centers are popular in many parts of the world, but in Nepal, trading the world's most popular cryptocurrency can lead to arrest by local police. The Nepalese government has arrested two more people after sending more than a dozen bitcoin users to prison, further pushing bitcoin activity underground.

Elsewhere in the world, where innovation is relatively free, people like Ram Dhakal and Purusottam Dhar Tuladhar might be popular in billionaire circles for their businesses, but in the Nepalese cities of Kathmandu and Pokhara, these men are branded as Bitcoin criminals.

“Nepal’s Central Investigation Bureau (CIB) has arrested two individuals for allegedly running a bitcoin scam,” The Himalayan Times reported, “under the guise of an online technology business.”

“CIB spokesperson SP Jeevan Shrestha said the duo was running a cryptocurrency scam under the name of Bitsewa company,” the article mentioned.

As of press time, the website bitsewa.com is offline, however, its Facebook page remains online and does not appear to contain any nefarious or criminal content.

Nepali authorities claimed that “they registered the company Bitsewa under the pretext of operating network technology, information dissemination and software development. They also operated the website www.bitsewa.com: Nepal’s first Bitcoin company and digital asset exchange.”

Bitcoin is an online technology that spreads through information and software development.

Accused of "tempting" customers through Facebook

The report also mentioned that "the two used the company's Facebook page to attract people's attention."

Clicking on its Facebook page again, it seems that there is no information suspected of being illegal.

“Although cryptocurrencies are legal in some countries and there are more than 1,100 cryptocurrencies on the market,” the article states, “trading them is punishable under the Nepal Banking Act.”

The Nepal Rastra Bank Act, published in 2002 and updated in 2006, does not mention bitcoin or cryptocurrencies. It is unclear which part of the law Ram Dhakal and Purusottam Dhar Tuladhar violated.

However, it is clear that the Nepal Central Bank has banned all Bitcoin transactions in the region.

"While bitcoin is thriving in some countries, it is still viewed as an economic threat by many, who worry that, because bitcoin transactions are highly anonymous, it could be used by criminals as a tool, particularly for money laundering," wrote Abhishek Gupta of Techlekh.

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