Karnataka Bitcoin scam: SIT raids nine places, including homes of four police officers

The Special Investigation Team (SIT) probing the Karnataka Bitcoin scam on Saturday held searches at nine different locations in the city. The searches were held by multiple teams in places, including the homes of four police officers and two others, the SIT said in a statement.

The raids were conducted in connection with the Bitcoin case registered in 2020 and were not related to the hacking of the e-procurement portal of the Karnataka government, a well-placed source told DH. “No detentions were made and the investigations will continue,” the officer said.

The officials seized electronic devices, including laptops, mobile phones and hard drives.

Last month, the SIT, formed after the Congress assumed power in the state in May this year, raided the homes of Srikrishna Ramesh alias Sriki, the prime suspect, and two others.

The multi-crore scam came to the fore after Sriki’s arrest in November 2020 in a case related to buying hydro ganja on the dark web using Bitcoins. During the probe, it was found that Sriki allegedly hacked into online poker sites, crypto exchanges and other websites. Further investigations also revealed his alleged role in the hacking of the state government's e-procurement portal to the tune of Rs 11.5 crore in 2019.

Evidence seized

Laptops - 4

Mobile phones - 8

NAS storage devices - 2

Hard drives - 10

Pen drives - 5

Memory card - 1