NCCIA Obtains Six Months of Binance Crypto Data in Mir Raza Murder Probe
KARACHI, PAKISTAN — WEB DESK: The National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency has obtained six months of Binance and cryptocurrency-related data as investigators examine the financial trail connected to the murder of young Karachi entrepreneur Mir Raza Ali, according to sources familiar with the investigation.
The multi-page dataset has been provided to the investigation committee and submitted to the judicial commission examining the case, The Express Tribune reported Wednesday.
Investigators have now asked the NCCIA to analyse and decode the cryptocurrency records into a simpler format so police can determine the frequency and pattern of transactions during the six-month period.
Police Seek Daily Binance Transaction Details
According to investigation sources, police specifically want to establish how many transactions were carried out each day during the six months covered by the records.
The data has reportedly been provided in a format resembling Call Detail Records (CDRs), making specialist analysis necessary before investigators can easily interpret the financial activity.
The NCCIA has been asked to translate the technical cryptocurrency information into a clearer form that can be incorporated into the wider murder investigation.
Sources told The Express Tribune that the cryptocurrency data is obtained from abroad and analysed by the cybercrime agency, which has specialists capable of decoding such records.
NCCIA Report Expected Within Two Days
Police expect to receive the NCCIA’s analytical report within approximately two days, according to the sources cited in Wednesday’s report.
The analysis could help investigators reconstruct Mir Raza’s financial activity and determine whether any cryptocurrency transactions are relevant to the circumstances surrounding his death.
However, the acquisition of Binance data does not by itself establish a motive, identify a suspect or demonstrate that cryptocurrency activity was connected to the killing.
The records are one component of a much wider investigation involving financial, digital, forensic, medical and CCTV evidence.
Mir Raza Found Dead After Disappearance
Mir Raza Ali, the young owner of Karachi dessert business Wafflix, disappeared on July 28.
His body was discovered the following day in bushes near a wedding hall in Gulistan-e-Jauhar, triggering an investigation that subsequently became the subject of intense scrutiny.
Questions initially emerged over whether his death was a suicide or homicide.
A second post-mortem later found that the medical evidence was inconsistent with suicide, strengthening the family’s position that Mir Raza had been murdered.
Police subsequently said investigators were treating the case as murder and had restarted significant aspects of the investigation.
Financial Trail Under Investigation
The Binance records add a new dimension to investigators’ examination of Mir Raza’s financial affairs.
Previous reporting showed police were already reconstructing his final hours by examining his meetings, telephone calls, financial transactions and movements before his death.
Investigators were told that Raza discussed a potential investment worth between Rs70 million and Rs80 million with a man he met on Sharae Faisal on July 27.
Sources also said he later received a call informing him that a Rs100 million loan had been approved in his sister’s name, after a previous application submitted by him had reportedly been rejected.
These matters remain part of the investigative record and should not be interpreted as establishing a motive for the murder unless authorities formally make such a finding.
No Earlier NCCIA Case Against Mir Raza
Earlier reporting also established an important point regarding the cybercrime agency’s involvement.
NCCIA records showed that no complaint, application or inquiry involving Mir Raza was pending with the agency before July 28, according to sources familiar with its records.
Police approached the NCCIA on August 11 as part of the murder investigation and sought information about whether any earlier matter involving Raza existed within the agency’s jurisdiction.
The agency’s records showed none was pending before his disappearance.
This means NCCIA’s involvement with Raza’s digital and cryptocurrency information is part of the post-death investigation, rather than evidence that he had previously been under investigation by the cybercrime agency.
Judicial Commission Examining Investigation
The cryptocurrency development comes as a judicial commission continues scrutinising the handling of the case.
The Sindh High Court earlier rejected the family’s request for a Joint Investigation Team, while directing authorities to investigate the case impartially, fairly and expeditiously.
A judicial commission has separately been examining the investigation and hearing testimony from people connected with the case.
The commission has questioned Mir Raza’s business partner, family members, police officials and other witnesses as it assesses the circumstances surrounding his death and the quality of the investigation.
Autopsy Discrepancies Come Under Scrutiny
Medical evidence has also become a major focus.
Police Surgeon Dr Summaiya Syed told the judicial commission that important details had been omitted from the post-mortem report and raised concerns about the correspondence between the bullet’s reported entry and exit wounds.
The hearing was subsequently adjourned following an intervention by Sindh Advocate General Javed Dero.
Justice Omar Sial, who heads the commission, expressed displeasure and ordered Sindh Home Minister Ziaul Hassan Lanjar to appear before the commission on Thursday.
These developments have increased scrutiny of the initial handling of medical and investigative evidence.
Digital Evidence Remains Central to Probe
Investigators have been examining digital evidence for several weeks.
Earlier in the investigation, Mir Raza’s smartwatch and mobile phone were retrieved from the NCCIA for forensic examination, while the expanded investigation team was tasked with reviewing CCTV footage, digital records and potential business links.
Sindh Police previously said the investigation team was conducting a detailed review of medical reports, digital evidence, previous investigative proceedings and information provided by family members, friends and other relevant sources.
The newly obtained cryptocurrency records now add another potentially important dataset.
What Investigators Could Learn From Crypto Records
Cryptocurrency transaction records can help investigators reconstruct financial activity by establishing the timing, frequency and movement of digital assets.
In Mir Raza’s case, police have specifically asked for daily transaction counts over the six-month period.
Investigators can then compare relevant financial activity with other evidence, including telephone records, meetings, business dealings and movements.
But the existence of transactions should not itself be treated as evidence of criminal activity.
At this stage, authorities have not publicly established that Mir Raza’s cryptocurrency dealings caused or were directly connected to his murder.
Investigation Enters New Digital-Forensics Phase
The NCCIA analysis could become important if it identifies financial activity that investigators consider relevant to the timeline or potential motive.
The immediate next development will be the agency’s expected analytical report explaining the Binance and cryptocurrency records in a format investigators and the judicial commission can more easily evaluate.
For now, the verified development is that NCCIA has obtained six months of cryptocurrency-related records connected to Mir Raza and police have asked the agency to analyse the transactions as part of the ongoing murder investigation.
