India’s leading political parties have gone head to head over a multimillion dollar scam involving Bitcoin.
On Saturday, Indian National Congress (INC) spokesperson Randeep Singh Surjewala accused the Bhartiya Janta Party (BJP) government of the southern state of Karnataka of covering up the scam. BJP holds the majority and INC is in opposition.
Requesting that Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai reveal the main players in the scam, Surjewala stated:
This is a case of intrigue, whitewash, concealment, and deception smack of a deep-rooted conspiracy. It is India’s biggest-ever ‘Bitcoin Scam Cover Up’ under the Karnataka BJP government. Instead of conducting a fair investigation, the BJP Government of Karnataka appears to be preoccupied with a cover-up.
His comments came at a press release after a number of leaders of Congress said Prime Minister Narendra Modi was trying to drop the investigation by asking Bommai not to act on the request.
Over $1.3M embezzled in 2019 hack
The scam started in 2019, but the details didn’t emerge until 2020, when police arrested a hacker named Srikrishna and his associates in a drug bust.
During the subsequent investigation, it emerged Srikrishna had masterminded the purported hack of the Karnataka government’s E-procurement portal a year earlier, embezzling the equivalent of $1.3 million in Indian rupees according to ThePrint.
Not a first for the hacker
Srikrishna also confessed to being the mastermind behind the 2016 hack of Bitfinex crypto exchange, when he siphoned 2,000 bitcoins, according to a statement Surjewala released. In January, police announced they had recovered 31 bitcoins from Srikrishna.
Later, this announcement was retracted. Police admitted the bitcoins were never transferred from Srikrishna’s wallet.
Surjewala added in the release:
How many Bitcoins and of what value were transferred? How does the Bengaluru police then suggest (in its third Panchnama dated 22nd January 2021) that the 31 & 186 Bitcoins allegedly transferred to the police wallet were lost or were found to be fake transactions?
Indian government to take ‘progressive’ measures on matter
The Indian government plans to take “progressive” and “forward-looking” measures on this issue. It’s well aware of the risks associated with cryptocurrencies, Asia News International (ANI) reported following a meeting on the future of crypto in the Asian country chaired by PM Modi. ANI tweeted:
It was strongly felt that attempts to mislead the youth through over promising & non-transparent advertising be stopped. There was consensus also that the steps taken in the field of cryptocurrency & related issues by the govt will be progressive & forward-looking.”
