SIT summons state Youth Cong chief in bitcoin case | Latest News India

The Karnataka Criminal Investigation Department’s (CID’s) Special Investigation Team (SIT) has summoned state Youth Congress president Mohammed Haris Nalapad for questioning in its ongoing probe into the bitcoin scam, people aware of the development said on Thursday.

Nalapad, 34, along with his brother Omar Haris, 29, had been questioned in June 2024 over expenses they allegedly covered for hacker Srikrishna Ramesh, known as Sriki. Investigators are examining payments linked to Sriki’s luxurious accommodations, travel, and other costs between 2017 and 2018. The brothers are the sons of Congress MLA NA Haris, who chairs the Bangalore Development Authority, they added.

The SIT’s notice to Nalapad coincides with its preparation of filing two charge sheets in the case. One charge sheet focuses on police involvement in tampering with evidence, while the other investigates allegations of cryptocurrency misappropriation following Sriki’s arrest in November 2020.

Responding to Nalapad’s summons, Karnataka home minister G Parameshwar said that the investigation must run its course. “If a notice has been issued for questioning, what should I say? The bitcoin investigation is underway. The investigators will question whomever they feel they need to question. Nalapad is one of them,” he told reporters.

Parameshwara emphasised that the government has no role in the probe. “Is there a relationship between Nalapad and Sriki or not? They will investigate. That is what an investigation means. Who is related or not? Is there a financial transaction or not? They will investigate everything. While the investigation is going on, the government cannot give an answer when someone is called for questioning. Let the investigation be complete. We will provide all the information later,” he added.

Investigators are also looking into whether stolen cryptocurrency was used between 2017 and 2023, potentially in collaboration with prominent individuals. The SIT launched its probe in June 2023 and later charged Sriki and his accountant, Robin Khandelwal, over a 2017 hacking incident at Unocoin Technology Pvt Ltd, which resulted in the theft of 60.6 bitcoins, valued at ₹1.14 crore at the time, officials said.

Statements from Khandelwal, a Kolkata-based cryptocurrency trader, have drawn attention to the Nalapad brothers. Arrested in November 2020, Khandelwal disclosed that he travelled to Bengaluru in 2018 after meeting Sriki online and facilitated multiple cryptocurrency trades for him, they added.

During his visit in January 2018, Khandelwal reported that he had met Sriki at a luxury hotel, where the hacker was accompanied by Mohammed Nalapad, Omar Nalapad, and their associate, Mohammed Nafi. “At this time, Srikrishna had hacked the databases of bitcoin exchanges and kept a lot of bitcoins with him. He showed me the Unocoin database,” Khandelwal said in his statement.

In February 2018, Mohammed Nalapad was arrested following a pub brawl in Bengaluru. Sriki, who was present at the time, allegedly fled the city and later travelled to Kolkata and other locations with his fund manager, they said.

No direct financial transactions between the Nalapad brothers and Sriki have been established. However, during a 2021 interrogation, Sriki told CID officials that he had invested 150 bitcoins and 1,100 Ethereum with Mohammed Nalapad after meeting him in 2017. Investigators are working to verify this claim, officials said.