According to sources, the recovered cryptocurrency is linked to a case involving the alleged hacking of PokerBaazi, a gaming website. | Photo Credit: file photo
The Special Investigation Team (SIT) of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID), which has been probing the bitcoin scam, has made little progress in recovering the cryptocurrency over the past two years. According to an investigation team source, only 9.19 milliBitcoins (mBTC) has been recovered. One mBTC is equivalent to 0.001 bitcoin, and based on the current market price, the total value of the recovered amount is estimated at ₹77,460.
The SIT was formed in July 2023. According to sources, the recovered cryptocurrency is linked to a case involving the alleged hacking of PokerBaazi, a gaming website. The case was filed in 2018. It was alleged that international hacker Srikrishna Ramesh, aka Sriki, had hacked into the website.
Eight cases
The SIT is investigating eight different cases involving accused persons, including Sriki, Robin Khandelwal, Sunish Hegde, and several former Central Crime Branch (CCB) officers. The FIRs, related to hacking, cheating, and violations under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, 1985, were registered at multiple police stations, including Ashok Nagar, Cottonpet, K.G. Nagar, the Central Cybercrime Police Station, the CID Police Station, and New Extension Police Station in Tumakuru district.
In a 2017 case from Tumakuru district, the police arrested Sriki and Khandelwal in May 2024 and charged them under the Karnataka Control of Organised Crime Act (KCOCA), 2000. However, the Karnataka High Court later quashed the KCOCA charges, and the duo was released on bail.
Based on a complaint by Harish B.V., Director of Unocoin Technologies Pvt. Ltd., a case was registered against unidentified individuals for hacking into Unocoin’s database and stealing 60.6 bitcoins. At the time of the theft, each bitcoin was worth ₹1,67,481. The SIT has named Sriki and Khandelwal as accused in the case.
An FIR filed at the CID Police Station accused former CCB police officers of wrongful confinement, destruction of electronic evidence, and breach of trust. The three accused officers — Sridhar K. Pujar, Lakshmikantaiah, and Chandradhar — were then serving as CCB inspectors. Two others other were Prashanth Babu D.M., in charge of the CCB Technical Support Centre, and Santosh Kumar K.S., CEO of GCID Technologies Pvt. Ltd.
The SIT arrested Babu, Pujar, Lakshmikantaiah, Chandradhar, and Santosh, but all are currently out on bail. The SIT also summoned and questioned IPS officer Sandeep Patil, who was the Joint Commissioner (Crime) when Sriki was first arrested.
SIT sources said they have been unable to recover any additional bitcoins linked to other hacks, including Bitfinex. Officials attribute the delay to the poor response from cryptocurrency exchanges. Out of 32 requests sent by the SIT, only 10 have received responses so far.
Notably, the U.S. Department of Justice recovered 94,000 bitcoins in what remains the largest cryptocurrency hack in history, where 119,794 Bitcoins were stolen. In February 2022, the DoJ arrested a couple, Lichtenstein and Morgan, in connection with the case.
Chargesheet in two cases
The SIT has only been able to file chargesheets in two cases so far. These include: An NDPS case registered at K.G. Nagar Police Station (the first case in which Sriki was arrested), and a cheating case filed at Ashok Nagar Police Station.
The SIT has yet to file chargesheets in cases related to hacking the government e-procurement site, PokerBaazi, Bitcoin exchanges, and Unocoin.
Published – February 03, 2025 10:13 pm IST
