Crypto Fraud Worth Rs. 4 Crore Traced to Hamas Wallets by Delhi Police’s Cyber Crime Unit

The investigation into the case was looked after by the Cyber Crime Unit of Delhi Police’s Special Cell.

By Shomik Sen Bhattacharjee | Updated: 25 January 2022 14:24 IST

Crypto Fraud Worth Rs. 4 Crore Traced to Hamas Wallets by Delhi Police’s Cyber Crime Unit

Photo Credit: Unsplash/ Bermix Studio

The cryptocurrencies were worth about Rs 30 lakh when first reported in 2019

Highlights

The amount in crypto stolen is currently valued at Rs. 4 crore
The stolen cryptocurrencies were routed through different wallets
The account linked to Hamas has been seized by Israeli authorities

The Cyber Crime Unit of Delhi Police's Special Cell claims to have apprehended a group of scamsters who allegedly stole cryptocurrency from a Delhi-based businessman and transferred the amount to the wallets of Al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Palestinian organisation Hamas. The fraudulent transfer which involved digital currency in the form of Bitcoin, Ether, and a host of other cryptocurrencies, was reported by the businessman to a police station in Paschim Vihar back in 2019 and is currently valued at Rs. 4 crore.

During the investigation, it was found that around 6.7 Bitcoins, 9.79 Ethers and 2.44 Bitcoin Cash was transferred to three accounts. Two Bitcoins were transferred to six accounts, including a wallet with the address name ‘Al-QassamBrigades'.

KPS Malhotra, DCP (Cyber Cell) told PTI, “The cryptocurrencies were routed through various wallets and landed in the suspected wallets. We discovered that one of the wallets, that belongs to the Palestinian origination, has been seized by Israeli authorities for counter-terror financing.”

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The investigation conducted by the Intelligence Fusion and Strategic Ops (IFSO) unit of Delhi Police Special Cell so far has established that the Bitcoins and other cryptocurrencies were fraudulently transferred from the wallet of the businessman, he added.

Malhotra said the cryptocurrencies were routed through various wallets and landed in the wallets of the suspects. He added that it was further discovered that one of the wallets, belonging to the Palestinian organisation, had been seized by Israel authorities for being involved in terror financing.

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The police said that some of the currency was transferred to other wallets that are being operated from Giza, Egypt and Ramallah, Palestine. Police said they have recovered details of these accounts and that some of them were used for financing terror operations and others for child pornography.

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