Indian Woman Caught After Stealing 63.5 Bitcoins From Company She Co-Founded

Ayushi Jain, a 26-year-old Indian woman, has been arrested by police after she stole 63.5 Bitcoins worth approximately $420,000 from Bengaluru-based BitCipher Labs LLP, a company she co-founded with Ashish Singhal. Following the split up between the co-founders in December 2019, Ayushi decided to go on a looting spree and fled with the Bitcoins between January and March this year. 

Irregularities witnessed 

Singhal, who filed the complaint with the Indian Criminal Investigation Department (CID), acknowledged that he noted something was amiss in the hard wallet containing the Bitcoins as he holds the private keys with two others. 

He stated, “Recently, we found that 63.5 Bitcoins (Rs 36,662,259) were stolen and transferred through crypto exchange SwapLab between January 11 and March 11.”

Following thorough investigations, the police found Ayushi culpable of the crime as she had transferred the Bitcoins to accounts belonging to her close friends. She was crafty as she had gained access to the hard wallet by using a passphrase, which comprises a sequence of text or words utilized in a computer system. 

An investigating officer noted, “We seized a laptop which contained the history, showing how Ayushi used the passphrase and stole money in installments between January and March. She confessed to the Crime.” Following her revelation, the entire amount was recovered. 

The escalation of crypto theft

This is the first case involving crypto theft in India following the landmark ruling earlier this month by the nation’s Supreme Court as it lifted the crypto ban imposed by the central bank. 

Crypto theft has been rising at an alarming rate across the globe. According to a report by CipherTrace, a blockchain forensics company, the cryptocurrency sector lost a whopping $4.4 billion in scams and thefts in 2019. 

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