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Karnataka Youth Congress leader Mohammed Haris Nalapad has been named in a chargesheet filed by the Karnataka government’s Special Investigation Team (SIT) in the 2017 Unocoin bitcoin theft case. Nalapad is the son of Congress MLA of Shantinagar NA Harris. The chargesheet, submitted before a Bengaluru court on May 20, names Mohammed Nalapad along with alleged hacker Srikrishna Ramesh alias Sriki and his accountant Robin Khandelwal.
The case relates to the theft of 60.6 bitcoins from Tumakuru-based cryptocurrency exchange Unocoin in June 2017. At the time, the stolen cryptocurrency was valued at Rs 1.14 crore. With this, Mohammed has become the first politician to be formally accused in the long-running cryptocurrency scam.
According to the SIT, Mohammed was among the beneficiaries of the stolen bitcoins and is accused of facilitating the conversion of cryptocurrency into cash. Investigators have alleged that the proceeds were routed through hawala channels. While the Enforcement Directorate (ED) had previously named Mohammed Nalapad, his brother Omar Farook Nalapad and Aqueeb Khan, grandson of former Union minister K Rahman Khan, as beneficiaries in the case, this is the first time Mohammed Nalapad has been named in a chargesheet.
The development comes weeks after the ED conducted searches at premises linked to Sriki, the Nalapad brothers, Aqueeb Khan and businessman Sunish Hegde as part of its money laundering investigation. The agency has also summoned Mohammed Nalapad and Omar Farook Nalapad to appear before its Bengaluru office on Thursday, June 11 to record their statements under the Prevention of Money Laundering (PMLA) Act.
The bitcoin theft case originated from a complaint filed by Unocoin co-founder Harish BV in July 2017. The complaint alleged that unknown persons had hacked the exchange and transferred 60.6 bitcoins to two separate digital wallets. The case gained wider attention after Sriki’s arrest in November 2020 in connection with the purchase of hydro ganja on the dark web using cryptocurrency.
Subsequent investigations linked Sriki to a series of cybercrimes, including the hacking of cryptocurrency exchanges, online poker platforms and the Karnataka government’s e-procurement portal. Investigators alleged that Rs 11.5 crore was siphoned from the e-procurement system in 2019.
The Congress government constituted the SIT in July 2023 to investigate allegations of irregularities and possible corruption in earlier probes conducted during the BJP government’s tenure. Since then, the SIT has examined financial transactions and associations involving Sriki and several individuals allegedly linked to him.
According to investigators, scrutiny of the case has included the purchase of a Porsche Macan worth Rs 57 lakh in January 2018, months after the Unocoin hack. The SIT has examined whether proceeds from cybercrimes were used for such purchases.
Statements recorded during the investigation have also formed part of the probe. Robin Khandelwal allegedly told police that he sold around 130 bitcoins provided by Sriki between 2017 and 2020 and transferred the proceeds to accounts identified by the hacker, while also providing cash through hawala channels. He further claimed to have met Sriki and several of his associates, including Mohammed and Omar Nalapad, in Bengaluru in early 2018.
In a separate statement recorded by the Karnataka CID in 2021, Sriki allegedly claimed that he had invested 150 bitcoins and 1,100 Ethereum with Mohammed Nalapad after meeting him in 2017.
The ED arrested Sriki, Khandelwal and Sunish Hegde in May as part of its money laundering investigation. The agency has alleged that cryptocurrency and funds obtained through hacking operations were laundered and spent on luxury vehicles, private jet travel, gambling and stays at high-end hotels and resorts.
Speaking to the Deccan Herald, Mohammed Nalapad has denied wrongdoing. Following the ED raids in April, he described the action as politically motivated and alleged that the central agency was targeting his father. He maintained that the searches had not yielded any incriminating material.
