Indian law enforcement has arrested the main suspect in a long-running Bitcoin theft case, marking a milestone in a seven-year investigation. The Enforcement Directorate (ED) and a Special Investigation Team (SIT) in Bengaluru apprehended Srikrishna, known as Sriki, along with two associates—Robin Khandeval and Sunish Hegde—on charges related to a cryptocurrency fraud worth Rs 11.5 crore (~$1.3 million). A special court has granted the ED 10 days of custody to continue the probe.
The alleged theft dates back to 2017, when Sriki and his crew reportedly breached national and international websites and stole Bitcoin, including funds from a Dubai exchange. Investigators believe the stolen crypto was then funnelled to individuals with political ties in Karnataka. Sriki first came to the attention of authorities in November 2020, when he was arrested for allegedly purchasing drugs on the dark web using Bitcoin.
On April 20, the ED raided 12 locations linked to the accused, including residences of Mohammed Haris Nalapad and Omar Farook Nalapad, sons of Shantinagar MLA N.A. Haris, as well as the home of Mohammed Hakeeb Khan, grandson of former Union Minister K. Rehman Khan. The agency suspects the Nalapads received proceeds from the crime, with the digital trail leading from the Dubai exchange to their accounts. Suspicious transfers through Hakeeb Khan’s bank accounts also prompted searches, and transactions between Khan and Sriki remain under scrutiny.
The case was initially handled by Bengaluru’s Central Crime Branch, then transferred to Karnataka’s Criminal Investigation Department before the ED took over, using the Prevention of Money Laundering Act to trace funds across crypto wallets and traditional banking. In a separate but related context, a Himachal Pradesh High Court recently denied bail to Abhishek Sharma, accused of running a crypto MLM scheme that allegedly defrauded over 80,000 investors of Rs 500 crore (~$3.6 million), with the court deeming such economic offences “grave”.
The arrests highlight India’s growing capability to pursue cryptocurrency-related crimes across multi-year timelines, even as global crypto fraud losses continue to climb—the FBI reported $11.4 billion in US losses in 2025, a 22% jump from the prior year.
