TL;DR Breakdown:
- The police in Karnataka, India have seized over $1 million worth of Bitcoin from a hacker.
- The culprit admitted to hacking crypto exchanges and online gaming platforms for money.
In Karnataka, a state in India, the law enforcement agency has reportedly seized more than $1 million in Bitcoin (BTC) from a hacker who has been under detention in the country. According to the report on Friday by ANINEWS, the culprit known as Srikrishna alias Shreeki admitted to hacking several government websites and also manipulating online gaming platforms in order to acquire Bitcoins.
The 25-year-old hacker, Srikrishna, has been under detention since November 18, according to Sandeep Patil, the Bengaluru Joint Commissioner of Police. He was accused of breaking into government websites and gaming platforms, especially online poker games. He admitted to the charges, saying he hacked into the state’s e-procurement website about two years ago. Srikrishna was also responsible for creating about three malware softwares.
The Karnataka Police also learned through the investigations that Srikrishna hacked a total of 10 poker websites and three digital currency exchanges. The police didn’t mention exactly how much the hacker bagged through the illicit activities. However, the Karnataka police were able to seize about $1.2 million (Rs 9 crores) worth of Bitcoin from the 25-yo hacker.
Crypto adoption in India
Many investors in the country have shown a keen interest in digital currencies since the supreme court revoked the ban imposed by the country’s central bank. Cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin (BTC) are gaining traction in the country. However, criminal cases like hacks and frauds might scare more investors away from the industry, thereby slowing the mainstream adoption.
However, law enforcement authorities are actively working to keep the sector clear by bringing criminals in the space to justice. Last year, Cryptopolitan reported the arrest of another youth in India, who was caught trying to buy hard drugs using Bitcoin.
That aside, the cryptocurrency market in India has been booming with lots of participation. On July 22, India was named among the leading countries with a high Bitcoin transaction volume in the peer-to-peer market.
