Manpreet Kohli Extradition Fight Ends in Defeat Amid Saitama Allegations

Manpreet Kohli's extradition challenge to the US has been rejected by Judge Samuel Goozee in the UK. This decision moves Kohli closer to a federal trial over alleged wire fraud and market manipulation involving Saitama, a now-defunct Ethereum token that reached a peak market value of $7.5 billion.

The 45-year-old former Saitama CEO is accused of generating roughly $20 million from Saitama token sales through a scheme that allegedly involved coordinating small purchases across multiple wallets to create the appearance of broader demand, and paying market makers to generate artificial trading volume.

Kohli can still appeal and remains free on £200,000 bail. The case now sits with British ministers for an extradition decision. Kohli's UK challenge focused partly on whether US custody arrangements could adequately manage his health and safety, but Judge Goozee found the available safeguards sufficient to allow the extradition process to continue.