- The training will empower police investigating crypto related cases
- India has imposed severe restrictions on crypto trading
- Crypto related scams are on the rise in India
The government of India will educate its senior ranking police officers on cryptocurrencies and the blockchain technology. The training will empower the police force to effectively investigate crypto-related matters.
India prioritizing crypto crime
The Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel National Police Academy (SVP NPA), according to an announcement on its official website, has launched the course that is set to begin in September and will target the top level cops. The officers will also learn about the “legal aspects of cryptocurrencies, crimes committed using cryptocurrencies [and], investigation of cases involving cryptocurrencies.” According to The New Delhi Police Commissioner Amulya Patnaik, the project is quite unique and is the first time that organizations are taking such efforts to create awareness about cryptocurrencies. Patnaik further added:
“We are now equipped with technology to recover data from damaged hard disks, cryptocurrency analysis, malware forensic, and data can be retrieved from 33,000 kinds of mobile models available in the market.”
Severe crackdowns will follow soon
The Indian government is expected to impose strict restrictions on cryptocurrency trade in the country and there are chances that severe crackdowns will follow soon thereafter. Cryptocurrency exchanges and related companies in India have been forced to suspend their businesses temporarily while others have had to close shop. This follows the orders given by the country’s Central Bank, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), forbidding banks and financial institutions from offering crypto business banking services from July 2018.
The cryptocurrency and blockchain training comes hot on the heels of other police forces, such as the London police that took a similar route. There has already been a flurry of cryptocurrency related criminal activity in India and a crackdown could only make matters worse.
For instance, scammers in India stole of $2 million in January using inspirational quotes by Bill gates. In the recent past the Indian government busted a call center scam that target US citizens and at least 78 people got arrested. A bank manager was arrested last week during a crackdown for a cryptocurrency-related Ponzi scheme.
The cryptocurrency market is relatively new and is largely unknown to the general public. There are even regulators who are calling for a ban of cryptocurrencies who hardly know a thing about digital assets. However, there are other institutions, such as the European Union and the European Central Bank, whose leaders have understood cryptocurrencies and are now in support of digital currencies.
