Karnataka Crypto Scam: Blacklisted Bitfinex Bitcoins Transferred To Unknown Wallets

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The blacklisted coins from the 2016 Bitfinex hack were transferred to unknown wallets on two specific dates – December 1, 2020 and April 14, 2021. The total number of bitcoins transferred on those dates was 15,075.55 – from a worth around Rs 6,500 crore today.

Srikrishna Ramesh aka Sriki, the 25-year-old hacker who is now behind bars, claimed responsibility for the Bitfinex hack in an indictment submitted by police.

While the December 1 transfer moved 5,018.48 blacklisted bitcoins to 14 accounts, 63 wallets were debited with the stolen bitcoins on April 14. Among the transfers were 1,241.37 coins to a wallet – valued at around Rs 550 crore – in April.

Transfers made in December ranged from 270.98 bitcoins to 469.9 bitcoins – worth around Rs 132 crore to Rs 215 crore today at Rs 46.02 lakh per bitcoin. As of December 2020, each bitcoin was worth Rs 14 lakh.

Read also | Karnataka crypto scam: indictment sheet says nothing about bitcoins worth Rs 9 crore

On April 14, 2021, stolen bitcoin transactions for unknown wallets ranged from 1.8827 bitcoins (worth around Rs 80 lakh) to 1,241.37. The price of each bitcoin in April was around Rs 45 lakh.

Sriki, remember, was arrested by Bengaluru police on November 18, 2020. He was then taken into custody by the City Crime Branch on December 4, 2020 for 13 days.

According to Sreekis’ statement in the indictment, he was part of a hacking group that broke into Bitfinex – a cryptocurrency exchange. He claims to have hacked the exchange twice. Bitfinex, following the 2016 hack, said that around 1.19 lakh of bitcoin was stolen from the exchange. Two Israeli hackers – Eli and Assaf Gigi – were arrested in 2019, but not all stolen bitcoins were recovered from him.

Sources told DH that the bitcoin had moved to an unregulated decentralized exchange and converted to cash. The amount was then likely transferred to a venture capital firm before reaching various people’s bank accounts, sources said.

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