Cops Charged with Extortion of $1.3 Million in Bitcoin
In the Indian state of Gujurat, the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) has charged 10 police officers with kidnapping, extortion and attempted corruption after allegedly kidnapping a businessman and extorting 200 Bitcoins.
The CID branch filed a First Intelligence Report on Sunday – the first step in a police interrogation in India – on 10 official and one civilian “fixers”, the Times of India reported.. Those accused include nine police officers and a commissioner named Anant Patel.
According to a different news source, Ahmedabah Mirror, police officers are accused of kidnapping local residents Shailesh Bhatt, Kirit Paladiya, and the driver, known as Mahipal. accused of taking them to a farmhouse, battering them and forcing them to transfer Bitcoins. The amount sought to be stolen currently amounts to $1.3 million.
According to Mirron’s report, it is also said that Bhatt was forced to transfer the Bitcoins to a third party.
According to the Times’ report, security Ashish Bhatia, managing director, said that initial investigations did not confirm that 200 Bitcoins were transferred from Bhatt to Patel, adding that the police had to examine the wallets of both citizens to prove it. says it was transferred from Kirit Paladiya’s digital wallet, a business partner of. They are allegedly being asked to pay another $5 million worth of rupees to get them out of the farmhouse.. He is then paid an additional $121,000 to get the Bitcoins back.. The transactions mentioned in this scenario are yet to be proven.”
According to Bhatia’s statement, a special investigative team has been set up to investigate this case.. Three police officers have been arrested so far, and the remaining six, including Patel, have disappeared, News18.com reported.
CoinDesk