13 BJP MLAs from Uttar Pradesh, as well as a former legislator, have received extortion threats messages from a USA registered number. WhatsApp messages in Devanagari script demanded Rs 10 Lakh in Bitcoins. These were the MLAs that received the messages:
- Veer Vikram Singh (Meeranpur Katra in Shahjahanpur),
- Manvendra Singh (Dadraul in Shahjahanpur),
- Prem Prakash Pandey (Tarabganj in Gonda),
- Vinay Kumar Dwivedi (Mehnam in Gonda),
- Vinod Katiyar, (Bhognipur in Kanpur),
- Shahshank Trivedi (Mahauli in Sitapur),
- Dhirendra Bahadur Singh (Sareni-Raebareli).
- Anita Rajput (Debai at Bulandshahr), plus many more.
An extortion message was also sent to a Rajasthani BJP politician on Sunday and Monday. The matter is being investigated by the state police.
They threaten to harm politicians’ families if they don’t pay 10,000. A news report from NDTV states that the messages require payments to be made in cryptocurrency bitcoin.
When asked which account the ransom should go to, the extortionist responded with a Bitcoin account number. He then asked for the amount to be sent to his Bitcoin account. Yogi Adityanath, Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, has instructed the police to recruit the anti-terrorist team and the STF in order to discover who is behind the threats.
All messages contained the name of the sender, Ali Budesh Bhai, Dubai. This refers to a gangster who was once connected to Dawood Ibrahim, now based in Pakistan. STF sources said,
“During the probe, a bitcoin (crypto-currency) account was discovered, as mentioned in threat messages to legislators. Transactions worth 1.60368338 Bitcoins (Rs. This account was used for transactions of 1.60368338 bitcoins (Rs. The entire amount was then transferred to another account.”
Six transactions total were made in the crypto-currency electronic-wallet between 6.46 PM and 4 AM on May 2, during which bitcoin was received, sent and received through various ewallets. Each transaction was completed on May 2, 3, 4 and 18, respectively, and on May 17, two transactions each.”
The police in Mumbai downplayed any possibility that Budesh was involved. Budesh’s last threat to India was to Rakesh Roshan, in 2000. Roshan had launched Hrithik in the film “Kaho Naa… Pyaar Ha”, according to Mumbai Police. Budesh demanded overseas rights to the film. Roshan refused to grant him this. Budesh’s men attacked Rakesh Roshan, injuring him. The messages were read.
“I am not available for long conversations with you. Ali Budhesh Bhai is my name. You can arrange for Rs 10 Lakh within three days if you want to ensure safety for your family and yourself. You won’t be able to arrange for money unless one of your relatives is dead. “My man is right there, don’t waste your time.”
Anand Kumar, Additional Director General, Law and Order, stated that a special investigation team was formed under the supervision by the inspector general at the STF Amitabh Yaash in order to investigate the threats. Shrikant Sharma, spokesperson for the UP Government, stated that.
“Investigation at all levels will be done and no one will remain innocent if found guilty.”
An anonymous senior police officer.
“Budesh has not called India since then. We know who called the Uttar Pradesh legislators. The caller appears to be Ali Budesh, but it isn’t him.”
Another example of Bitcoin fraud and extortion is the scam of a South Delhi businessman who was promised bitcoins by an international exchange company.
