Notorious hacker Srikrishna Ramesh (Sriki), who was inside a quarantine cell at Parappana Agrahara after he was arrested in 2020, allegedly moved Bitcoins worth ₹10 crore to different wallets using a laptop that was smuggled into the prison, unleashing the Bitcoin scam.
According to highly-placed sources privy to the Special Investigation Team (SIT) of the Criminal Investigation Department, a constable was allegedly bribed to bring the laptop inside, at the behest of some influential persons, to move the Bitcoins and further launder money.
Srikrishna Ramesh was first arrested in 2020 in a drug case by the Central Crime Branch (CCB). He was suspected to be procuring drugs through the DarkNet. Later in the course of investigation, it was found that Sriki was a hacker.
The CID in 2020 was also involved in the probe as it pertains to financial fraud amounting to A large amount. In a statement to the police, he claimed that he had given away some Bitcoins to police officials.
In June, 2023, the Congress government ordered an SIT probe. The SIT filed a complaint in the Cottonpet police station following which an FIR was registered against CCB officials who first investigated Sriki for allegedly tampering with evidence.
The sources said: “Sriki was always kept inside a quarantine cell and many were contacting him. One day, a constable was asked to smuggle a laptop inside. On the day, when some Bitcoins worth ₹10 crore were moved, the laptop was with Sriki inside the cell for about 20-22 minutes and it was brought out later.”
In those minutes, he transferred stolen Bitcoins to different wallets. It is suspected that from these wallets, the money may have been laundered into India through a secret network which the SIT is now trying to find. This happened between 2020-2021. He was inside the prison on and off for almost a year.
On the other hand, Sriki was also shuttled between the residence of a senior prison officer and the quarantine cell. The SIT which is probing the irregularities in the CCB investigation will soon be questioning three senior officers.
The SIT however is struggling to find out the device which was smuggled into the quarantine prison without which the evidences cannot be retrieved.
