Crypto trail under scrutiny in Mir Raza case

Mir Raza Ali, owner of the popular dessert shop Wafflix, whose body was found in Gulistan-e-Jauhar after he was allegedly kidnapped from PECHS. SCREENGRAB/ Youtube

A six-month digital money trail could provide investigators with fresh clues in the case, as the National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency (NCCIA) has obtained detailed Binance and cryptocurrency records and is now decoding the data to trace the movement of suspected funds, The Express Tribune has learnt.

The data, comprising several pages of technical records, has been provided to the Judicial Commission investigating the case in a format similar to a call detail record (CDR).

Sources said such cryptocurrency data is generally received from abroad and analysed by the NCCIA, which has coding and forensic experts at its laboratories. The agency is expected to provide its analysis to the police within the next 24 to 36 hours. A soft copy of the data will also be shared with the relevant authorities.

According to sources, the investigation will focus on tracing the movement of funds through cryptocurrency wallets. Investigators can use transaction IDs and transaction hashes to locate corresponding records on a public blockchain.