After months of investigation, a particular investigation workforce (SIT) of Karnataka’s CID police has achieved key breakthroughs to suggest that Bengaluru Crime Department police officers might have accessed Bitcoins value crores of rupees discovered within the possession of hacker Srikrishna Ramesh alias Sriki, 29, who was arrested in November 2020.
The breakthrough within the type of digital evidence has led to the arrest of a police officer and a personal cyber knowledgeable, in addition to the naming of three police officers in a brand new first information report (FIR) registered by the CID police on January 24.
The Bitcoin rip-off from the BJP tenure of 2019-2023 is extensively believed to have political ramifications within the state. The SIT was constituted in July 2023 by the brand new Congress authorities following allegations of large-scale corruption by the police in dealing with the circumstances.
Throughout authorized proceedings for the reason that January 24 arrest of Police Inspector Prashant Babu, who beforehand headed the technical help workforce to the Bengaluru Central Crime Department (CCB), and cyber knowledgeable Santhosh Kumar Okay S, the CEO of personal agency Group Cyber ID Applied sciences (GCID), the SIT has outlined the course of its discoveries within the case.
The important thing findings
Among the many key findings that the SIT has reported in courtroom filings in latest weeks is the restoration of a brand new laptop computer that was particularly purchased at arrested police officer Babu’s occasion and was utilized by Sriki whereas in police custody.
One other key discovering has been the truth that three nano ledgers or {hardware} crypto wallets have been procured on behalf of the arrested cyber knowledgeable Kumar from Surat when Sriki was underneath arrest.
The SIT has discovered digital evidence to suggest that a considerable amount of Bitcoins from cloud wallets belonging to Sriki have been transferred to the {hardware} wallets when the hacker was in custody.
The SIT investigations have additionally discovered digital evidence to point out that police officers used the companies of personal cyber and crypto specialists to wipe out the digital entry historical past of crypto wallets saved on an Amazon Net Providers (AWS) cloud server by Sriki (whereas he was in custody of the CCB police legally and illegally between November 2020 to January 2021).
A laptop computer, crypto wallets and a cloud server
In the midst of courtroom filings since January 24, the CID SIT has acknowledged that it discovered that round December 8, 2020, Babu bought a laptop computer manufactured by MSI for Rs 60,000 with the assistance of a cyber knowledgeable Gagan Jain of Cyber Secure, a personal agency which affords experience to the police in cyber investigations.
The laptop computer was not initially produced earlier than the SIT by the arrested Crime Department officer regardless of a number of notices however was finally produced on October 13, 2023, and handed over to the SIT. The laptop computer was produced earlier than the SIT every week after the workforce carried out searches on the houses of 4 police officers and two cyber specialists on October 6, 2023.
When the brand new laptop computer was subjected to forensic evaluation, it was discovered that it had been used whereas Sriki was in police custody to remotely entry crypto wallets on his AWS server account from the police technical cell and the workplace of the GCID. The small print of the pockets information on the Amazon cloud servers or their presence weren’t recorded in police information.
“The forensic evaluation of the laptop computer has revealed that it was used to hack and try to hack websites and perform different unlawful actions whereas the hacker was in police custody,” the SIT has mentioned in courtroom paperwork.
The SIT additionally discovered that the digital path of the entry of AWS cloud wallets of the hacker was erased by the police with the help of cyber specialists and a Bitcoin knowledgeable who’re additionally underneath investigation.
The SIT has alleged that the non-public cyber specialists Jain, Kumar and Sathvik V, the director of Unocoin Applied sciences, have been used to delete the bash historical past to entry the AWS. “Consequently, essential data on the Bitcoin wallets within the Amazon Net Server was erased and put out of attain of investigations,” the SIT alleged
The SIT has additionally discovered that when Sriki was in custody, Kumar obtained three nano ledgers or {hardware} crypto wallets from Surat via his associates – one among which was given to Babu. A big amount of Bitcoin that was in Sriki’s wallets was transferred to these {hardware} wallets on January 16, 2021, the SIT has alleged.
The SIT has reported the restoration of one of many three {hardware} crypto wallets and is in search of to discover the 2 different {hardware} crypto wallets that have been allegedly used for the switch of Bitcoins. “There may be details about the switch of Bitcoins and wallets of Sriki to nano ledgers ({hardware} crypto wallets),” B N Jagadeesh, a particular public prosecutor for the SIT, mentioned throughout arguments in courtroom proceedings for bail this week.
Throughout a bail listening to for Babu on Friday, his senior counsel Shyam Sundar argued that the case introduced by the CID towards him borders on the realm of creativeness and isn’t based mostly on concrete evidence. The listening to was adjourned to Monday.
Puzzling timeline
By the way, as per data within the case proceedings, on January 5, 2021, on Babu’s directions, cyber knowledgeable allegedly gained entry to the crypto wallets, e-mail and financial institution accounts of Sriki and his affiliate and accountant Robin Khandelwal and altered the logins and passwords within the absence of witnesses or courtroom orders.
On January 6, 2021, Kumar allegedly transferred Bitcoin value Rs 1.86 lakh to his personal crypto pockets from a crypto pockets belonging to Khandelwal – after gaining unlawful entry to the pockets with the modified passwords.
On January 8, 2021 the Crime Department carried out an official seizure course of for 31 Bitcoins that have been claimed to be situated in a pockets indicated by Sriki. Kumar facilitated the seizure of the 31 Bitcoins within the presence of personal panchas from the state electrical energy board.
Nonetheless, on January 22, 2021, when the police pockets into which the 31 Bitcoins seized from Sriki have been transferred on January 8 was opened, there have been no Bitcoins.
Cyber specialists Kumar and Sathvik supplied their knowledgeable opinion on the disappearance of the 31 Bitcoins by stating that Sriki had duped the police into believing that the Bitcoins situated in a cryptocurrency trade belonged to him.
Hacker’s claims
After he was arrested in 2020, hacker Sriki revealed to the police, as per paperwork together with his voluntary statements filed within the courts, that he was in possession of 400 Bitcoins and was pressured into giving it away by the police.
“I understood the case state of affairs that even when I don’t give them the Bitcoins they will use forensic strategies to discover the Bitcoins after a chat with the investigating officer. So put up consultations I voluntarily accepted to give away the Bitcoins which I had stored in numerous wallets in numerous cryptocurrencies,” reads a press release attributed to Sriki, which is part of the chargesheet in one of many hacking circumstances filed towards the hacker in 2021.
On the time of Sriki’s arrest, the worth of 1 Bitcoin was within the vary of $ 25000 (round Rs 20 lakh) and soared to as excessive as $ 60000 (round Rs 50 lakh) by April 2021. Investigators estimate the Bitcoin rip-off to be within the vary of Rs 80 crore to Rs 200 crore.
The SIT has acknowledged that additional investigation is required to confirm the veracity of Sriki’s allegations. “The digital path can’t be hidden in cybercrimes. They may invariably present leads. The SIT has discovered some leads,” a senior police officer mentioned. Officers of the SIT and others had analysed the digital and different data gathered within the investigation over months earlier than submitting a brand new FIR on January 24 and finishing up arrests, the police official mentioned.
The SIT has additionally named three former Bengaluru Crime Department officers – Sridhar Poojar (now a deputy superintendent of police) and inspectors Chandradhar S R and Lakshmikanthaiah – within the FIR filed on January 24 the place the officers are accused of unlawful confinement of Sriki and his accountant, breach of belief by a public servant, and destruction of evidence.
Cop’s interim anticipatory bail rejected
Sridhar Poojar, one of many police officers named within the FIR and the investigating officer in among the hacking circumstances probed by the Crime Department towards Sriki within the 2020-2021 interval, was denied interim anticipatory bail on Thursday by a particular courtroom.
“I’m of the opinion that earlier than passing any order on bail utility, the respondent is to be heard. Due to this fact with out listening to the respondent, it can’t be determined. Therefore utility for interim bail is rejected,” a particular CID courtroom mentioned Thursday.
The courtroom on Wednesday had granted anticipatory bail to Unocoin Applied sciences Pvt Ltd co-founders Sathvik V and Harish B V, who’ve been summoned for investigation by the SIT. Sathvik is alleged to have assisted Kumar monitor Sriki’s hacking exercise in police custody and facilitated the deletion of the cyber path for the unlawful entry of cloud wallets of the hacker whereas he was in police custody.
The co-founders of the crypto trade are alleged to have paid Rs 7 lakh to Babu to get better cryptocurrency that was hacked and stolen from the trade by Sriki in 2017.
