UK Judge Samuel Goozee rejected the extradition appeal of Manpreet Kohli, former head of Saitama, who will face charges related to telecom fraud and market manipulation in the U.S.

Kohli, a 45-year-old Indian national residing in the UK, previously led the company promoting the Saitama token on the Ethereum blockchain; at its peak, the token had a market value of approximately $7.5 billion.

U.S. prosecutors allege that Kohli and over ten accomplices publicly claimed to hold and continuously buy Saitama tokens while privately selling them for millions of dollars in profit; prosecutors claim Kohli profited about $20 million from these activities. These charges are pending in U.S. court, and Kohli has not been convicted.

Kohli was arrested in London in 2024. The case stems from an FBI sting operation: the FBI set up and operated digital tokens to identify participants in the crypto market suspected of false trading, pump-and-dump schemes, and market manipulation.

After rejecting his defense on August 19, the judge referred the case to the UK government minister to decide whether to issue an extradition order; Reuters reports that this step is usually procedural, but Kohli still retains the right to appeal and is currently out on bail set at £200,000.

In terms of market mechanisms, the direct trading target of the Saitama case is no longer a mainstream liquid asset, but the enforcement impact will extend to the token market that relies on project promotion, internal wallet trading, and the narrative of "team continuous buying." Buyers will place greater importance on on-chain wallet ownership, unlocking, and the sources of actual transactions; project parties, market makers, and token issuers with insufficient disclosure in public marketing will face higher scrutiny, compliance, and liquidity discount pressures.

Source: Public Information