Police Officers Accused of Embezzlement in Bitcoin Scandal
There are shocking developments in the Bitcoin fraud investigation in India. The Special Investigation Team (SIT) issued notice to Chief Inspector Sandeep Patil, who was then Head of Crime Branch, to clarify the inconsistencies in the investigation.
The investigation involves hacker Srikrishna Ramesh, known as Sriki, and his partner Robin Khandelwal. Sriki, the mastermind of the fraudster, hacked the cryptocurrency exchange called Unocoin in 2017 and stole 60.6 Bitcoins, worth 1.14 crore rupees (about $137,000) at that time. He also hacked other online platforms and laundered the funds he obtained using cryptocurrencies.
Sriki then transferred 150 Bitcoins worth 5.5 crore rupees through Khandelwal. The duo was first arrested in 2020 on charges of ordering drugs online using Bitcoin.
According to the first information report (FIR) filed by the SIT in January, former Crime Branch officers Sridhar Poojar, Prashanth Babu, Chandradhar SR and Lakshmikanthaiah and private cyber security expert Santhosh Kumar have no evidence of illegal detention, malfeasance by public servant and Bitcoin scam. He faces accusations of
The accusations include manipulating the investigation to cover up the embezzlement of Bitcoins seized during the investigation.
Investigators had initially claimed to have found 31 Bitcoins worth Rs 9 crore from Sriki and 0.08627702 BTC from Khandelwal. However, these Bitcoins were not found later. A statement was made that Sriki “manipulated the Bitcoin core application to mislead the investigation.” Despite this claim, the Crime Branch did not investigate further on how and when the manipulation took place.
Additionally, SIT findings reveal that Inspector Chandradhar detained Khandelwal and forced him to transfer money to cryptocurrency exchange Wazirx to purchase Bitcoin.
This duress was allegedly done to compensate for the Bitcoins that the Crime Branch could not seize from Khandelwal. Khandelwal’s cryptocurrency resources had been exhausted.
The SIT also accuses Rishab, son of an Additional Deputy Superintendent of Police (ADGP), of being involved in the scam. Rishab allegedly used illegal money obtained through Bitcoin trading. The SIT claims that when Sriki was active, Rishab received a check of Rs 40 lakh and used the money to buy a car.
This development comes as cryptocurrency-related scams have increased in India in recent years. Earlier this month, the country’s Enforcement Directorate (ED) intervened in two major fraud cases and seized more than $30 million.
Prior to this, the ED collaborated with the FBI to dismantle a $360 million drug trafficking ring financed by cryptocurrencies.
