Man arrested in Rs 384 cr crypto fraud case in Bengaluru
Bengaluru, Jul 30 (PTI): A 28-year-old man has been arrested in connection with an alleged cyber fraud at a city-based cryptocurrency trading platform that resulted in a loss of around Rs 384 crore, police said on Wednesday.
According to police, Hardeep Singh, vice-president (public policy and government affairs) at Neblio Technologies Private Limited, lodged a complaint stating that an unknown individual hacked into the company’s crypto wallet on July 19 and transferred cryptocurrency worth USD 44 million (approximately Rs 384 crore) to an unknown wallet.
The assets were then moved across six other unidentified wallets, police added.
The arrested person, identified as Rahul Agarwal, an employee of the company, has been taken into custody for further interrogation, a senior police officer said.
In the FIR, Singh stated that the company’s internal investigation revealed Agarwal’s laptop had been compromised.
During questioning, Agarwal reportedly admitted to holding a part-time job for the past year, from which he had earned approximately Rs 15 lakh.
He also confessed to using the company-issued laptop for the part-time job, which Singh alleged was a violation of company policy.
"It is suspected that he (Agarwal) may have colluded with the unknown accused and carried out the hacking," Singh alleged in the complaint.
When contacted, a company official declined to comment, stating that the matter is under investigation.
Based on the complaint, a case was registered on July 22 at the Whitefield CEN police station under relevant sections of the Information Technology Act and the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, including charges of theft, criminal breach of trust, and cheating by personation.
"We have arrested the suspect. He is being interrogated. The company has reported a loss of approximately Rs 384 crore due to the hack," police added.
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Governor’s speech row: CM Siddaramaiah cites “Vartha Bharathi” editorial in assembly
Bengaluru: Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Monday cited an editorial published in the Kannada daily Vartha Bharathi during the Assembly session. The Chief Minister was responding to a debate in the assembly held over the Governor's address to the joint session of both Houses of the State Legislature.
On January 22, Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot declined to read the customary address prepared by the government and made a two-line address before walking out on the first day of the State legislature session, triggering a major political row.
After the House reconvened following the lunch break, Speaker U.T. Khader gave CM Siddaramaiah the opportunity to respond to the debate on the motion of thanks to the Governor’s address. In his reply, the Chief Minister said the Governor left in haste without reading the full speech prepared by the government. He also pointed out that the Governor did not include the phrase “Jai Samvidhana” (Hail Constitution) and did not wait until the completion of the national anthem, stating that such conduct was inappropriate.
Referring to editorials published in various state dailies, the Chief Minister specifically cited Vartha Bharathi’s editorial dated January 23.
He said Governor Gehlot’s conduct during the January 22 session was not in keeping with the dignity of the constitutional office. Qouting the editorial the CM said, “the Governor appeared to act as though decisions and resolutions of the elected government required approval from him or the Central government, undermining the federal structure. Such actions violated the spirit of the Constitution and further fueled the already existing conflict between the Centre and the state."
Is Vartha Bharathi part of the government's cabinet? : V. Sunil Kumar
In the meantime, BJP MLA V. Sunil Kumar intervened the CM and questioned whether Vartha Bharathi was part of the government’s Cabinet.
Siddaramaiah responded saying, “no representatives of the newspaper were associated with the Congress party.”
Supporting the CM's statement and taking a jab at the BJP MLA, Minister Byrathi Suresh added, “None of Vartha Bharati’s representatives are there in our Cabinet. The editor of another newspaper was a member of your (BJP) party.”
