ED raids Karnataka Cong MLA's sons, grandson of K Rahman Khan in PMLA case

The Enforcement Directorate on Monday raided the sons of Karnataka Congress MLA N A Haris, grandson of ex-Union cabinet minister K Rahman Khan and some others in a crypto currency-linked money laundering case, officials said. More than a dozen premises in the city have been covered as part of the action executed under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). This includes the premises of Mohammed Haris Nalapad and Omar Farook Nalapad, the sons of the MLA, Aqeeb Khan, the grandson of veteran Congress leader and ex Union minister in the UPA regime K Rahman Khan and an alleged crypto hacker named Srikrishna Ramesh alias Sriki, they said. The money laundering case stems from some Karnataka Police FIRs and chargesheets filed in a 2017 case of hacking of national and international websites, stealing of bitcoins and sale of these 'stolen' virtual digital assets (VDA) through crypto platforms by the alleged hacker Sriki and his associates. Mohammed Haris Nalapad, Omar Farook Nalapad and Aqeeb Khan are alleged to be the beneficiaries of the proceeds of crime generated through this alleged crypto-linked crime, they said. The Haris brothers have been questioned in this case by the Karnataka Police special investigation team (SIT). Mohammed Haris Nalapad, a former Karnataka Youth Congress president, had then told the press that he and his brother did no wrong and never received illicit funds as alleged. The 59-year-old Nalapad Ahmed Haris alias N A Haris is a four-time Congress MLA, who got elected to the assembly in 2008 and since then has been representing the Shantinagar Assembly segment.His association with Karnataka Minister K J George helped him rise politically. Srikrishna Ramesh was arrested by the state police as part of this investigation. Congress leaders had alleged in 2021 that he hacked Bitcoins worth Rs 10,000 crore and demanded probe into the possible involvement of the then ruling BJP in Karnataka.