'Bitcoin scam' rocks Karnataka govt; BJP, Congress at loggerheads

An Enforcement Directorate (ED) investigation into an 11-month-old case in Bengaluru involving a cryptocurrency hacker is turning into a political blame game in Karnataka with the Opposition accusing the ruling BJP and officials involved in the scam and the investigation agencies of a cover-up.

On November 18, 2020, the Central Crime Branch (CCB) sleuths had seized bitcoins worth Rs 9 crore from a Bengaluru-based hacker, Srikrishna Ramesh, who had hacked into accounts of people dealing in the trade of cryptocurrency.

He is also being investigated for allegedly hacking the portal of the Karnataka government’s Centre for E-Governance and siphoning over Rs 11.55 crore, sources said. He has also been accused of drug trading through the dark-web.

While the CBI is yet to take over the case, the ED has been probing Srikrishna since last year in a money laundering case.