Overview
- The Enforcement Directorate, which arrested alleged hacker Srikrishna Ramesh and two others Friday, won 10 days of custody from a Bengaluru court on Saturday.
- Investigators say the case grows out of 2017 Karnataka Police complaints that accused Sriki and his associates of hacking websites, stealing bitcoin, and cashing out through crypto platforms.
- ED outlines a money trail that starts with theft of virtual assets, moves through sales on exchanges, then runs through bank accounts before being spent for personal use.
- Searches at 12 sites on April 20 included properties linked to MLA N A Haris’s sons and to Aqeeb Khan, with ED saying they benefited from crime proceeds and those named denying wrongdoing.
- Political stakes rose after 2021 claims by Congress leaders that Sriki stole bitcoin worth Rs 10,000 crore, though those claims remain allegations and the money-laundering probe continues.