Software engineer held for misappropriation of cryptocurrency worth Rs 56 cr from previous employer

Bengaluru: A 26-year-old software engineer was arrested from for allegedly misappropriating cryptocurrency worth Rs 56 crore from a city-based firm where he had worked previously, police said on Wednesday.

The accused, Shubhang Jain, who hails from Haryana, allegedly had access and control to all the company wallets which he misused, changed the account password and later transferred crypto currencies to other wallets, which he had created using fake identities, they said.

The matter came to light during a company audit.

Police said that accused was on the run for the last two years was arrested from Mumbai where he fled after committing the fraud at the city based cryptocurrency management firm he was working for.

“During the investigation, it was found that the accused had committed fraud by transferring the cryptocurrencies from the wallet belonging to the complainant company to the wallets of his, his family members and friends wallets which he had created to divert the firms currency between May 2021 and April 2022,” the police said in a statement.

Based on information received, Jain was tracked down and arrested in Mumbai where he was working for another company. Two mobile and as many as laptops were also seized from him, the police said.

He has been taken into police custody for further investigation and recovery of money, they added.