NEW DELHI: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Sunday denied the presence of any team from the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) in India, in connection with the Karnataka’s bitcoin case.
A CBI spokesperson here said in a statement, “The FBI has not sent any team to India for conducting a probe in the matter nor has any request been made by the FBI to the CBI for the same.”
The CBI spokesperson said that hence the question of according any permission for the probe by a competent authority in India does not arise.
He said that the CBI as the National Central Bureau for Interpol in India coordinates closely with international law enforcement agencies including the FBI.
The denial from the CBI came after Congress general secretary in charge of Karnataka, Randeep Singh Surjewala, on Friday asked the government whether the FBI was in India to investigate an alleged “Bitcoin scam” which the party had accused the BJP government in Karnataka of covering up last year.
He had also asked the government to release details of the investigation and suspects, including political people.
In addition to this, Congress MLA from Chittarpur Priyank Kharge had alleged that he believed the “FBI is in Delhi to investigate the billion-dollar” Bitcoin scam.
“If the state investigates the matter diligently, a lot of skeletons will tumble out of the BJP’s closet,” he had claimed.