Mir Raza murder case: NCCIA obtains six months of Binance, Crypto data

The National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency (NCCIA) has obtained six months of Binance and cryptocurrency data in connection with the murder case of young man Mir Raza in Karachi, sources said.

KARACHI: The National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency (NCCIA) has obtained six months of Binance and cryptocurrency data in connection with the murder case of young man Mir Raza in Karachi, sources said.

According to sources, the data has also been provided to the judicial commission investigating the case. Investigative authorities had requested the NCCIA to obtain six months of records related to Mir Raza as part of the ongoing probe.

Sources said the data received by the NCCIA consists of several pages of technical information. After decoding the records, the agency provided the information to the judicial commission in a format similar to a Call Detail Record (CDR).

The sources explained that the Binance data is presented in a specialised numerical and technical format, making it difficult to interpret without expert analysis. Investigators therefore requested the NCCIA to analyse and decode the information so that it could be presented in a simpler and more understandable form.

Investigating authorities have also asked for details showing the number of transactions carried out on a daily basis during the six-month period. The information could potentially help investigators establish the movement and pattern of cryptocurrency transactions linked to the case.

Sources said such data is received from overseas and is analysed by the NCCIA because its forensic laboratory has specialists with expertise in coding and technical data analysis.

The analysis is expected to be completed within the next 24 to 36 hours, after which the findings may be provided to the police. A soft copy of the analysed data is also expected to be shared with the relevant authorities.

Cryptocurrency is often perceived as a digital financial system in which users can maintain a degree of anonymity. However, transactions on public blockchains leave a permanent digital record that can be analyzed with blockchain analysis tools.

Sources say investigators can follow specific transactions on the blockchain using transaction IDs and transaction hashes. They can then examine the movement of suspected funds, including the wallet from which money was transferred, the wallet that received it and other addresses to which the funds may have subsequently moved.

This process is commonly referred to as flow of funds analysis.

Law enforcement and financial institutions around the world increasingly use blockchain analytics to investigate money laundering, fraud, stolen cryptocurrency assets and suspicious financial networks.

The NCCIA’s analysis of the Binance and cryptocurrency