Cybercrime probes focus on crypto transactions

NEW DELHI: In a move to strengthen investigations into cases relating to cyber crime, the Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has decided to ramp up its efforts to track increasing cryptocurrency transactions, particularly since 2020, as an analysis of the data available with the agencies revealed that criminals are directly or indirectly using the digital currencies to launder and take away ill-gotten funds, sources said on Sunday.

The sources said the government had directed a random forensic analysis of virtual wallets and crypto transactions and the same revealed a massive increase, which have now become crucial to track activities like money laundering, fraud, and ransomware payments.

According to them, the data collected by the National Cyber Forensic Laboratory revealed that there has been a whopping jump in crypto-related forensic cases between 2020 and 2024, with figures going up from nearly 10 cases in 2020 to over 290 cases in 2024, showing an increase over 2,500 per cent, the sources said.

“For investigative agencies and for cyber forensic experts such a growth has become a major area of concern and plans are being worked out to keep a tab on this to make sure that criminals do not take advantage in taking away their illegal wealth,” a source said.

According to another source, the spike in the number of crypto wallets and currencies also alerted the agencies to widen their focus to counter financial crimes associated with these, as the international regulatory framework has also been changing fast.