Bengaluru hacker caught after seven years in crypto heist probe
Indias Enforcement Directorate (ED) arrested the main suspect in a long running Bitcoin theft case on Saturday, pulling in two associates with him in Bengaluru. The ED arrested Srikrishna, who goes by Sriki, along with Robin Khandeval and Sunish Hegde. Theyre facing accusations tied to a cryptocurrency fraud worth Rs 11.5 crore, ~$1.3 million, according to local media outlets. A special court gave the ED 10 days of custody to dig deeper. This scam goes back to 2017. Thats when Sriki and his crew allegedly broke into national and international websites and made off with Bitcoin. The stolen coins included a haul from a Dubai exchange, investigators think. The crypto then got funneled to people with political ties in Karnataka. Sriki first landed on law enforcements radar in November 2020. He got arrested for allegedly buying hydro ganja on the dark web using Bitcoin. Indias ED has been chasing this Bitcoin scam for years now. The police are investigating illegal crypto transactions, hacking, and various financial irregularities. The case kicked up a lot of political noise in Karnataka. On April 20, the ED raided 12 locations linked to the accused and their associates. Among the targets, places connected to Mohammed Haris Nalapad and Omar Farook Nalapad, sons of









