THE CBI conducted searches at 10 locations in Delhi and surrounding areas in connection with a case of transnational cyber-enabled financial frauds involving Rs 117 crore, officials said. The central probe agency had registered the case last year in December on a complaint from the Union Home Ministry’s Cyber Crime Coordination Centre alleging that unidentified foreign actors and organised cybercriminals were allegedly engaged in a systematic financial fraud across India. During the year, the CBI analysed 3,903 complaints registered on the National Cybercrime Reporting Portal between January 1, 2023, and October 17, 2023, which showed that a staggering amount of Rs 117 crore was siphoned off by these gangs which use websites, WhatsApp, and Telegram to lure gullible people.

 

The CBI managed to track 10 suspects in the case whose premises -- eight in the national capital and two in Gurugram -- were searched during the operation on Wednesday. “They lure individuals through part-time job scams, task-based frauds, and promises of high returns on initial investments. Funds deposited by the victims are quickly transferred through a network of ‘mule accounts’ layered to obscure their origins,” the CBI Spokesperson said in a statement. The funds were diverted to Dubai and other UAE locations where they were withdrawn disguised as point-of-sale (POS) transactions.

 

The CBI tracked 3,295 Indian bank accounts which were used to carry out these fraudulent transactions. “These funds are eventually withdrawn overseas via ATMs or used for wallet top-ups on fintech platforms such as ‘Pyypl’, facilitated by international payment networks often disguised as POS transactions...Funds routed through these accounts were also used to purchase cryptocurrencies,” the statement said. The searches resulted in “incriminating” evidence, including electronic devices and financial records, seized from the premises of 10 individuals suspected of involvement in the fraud, he said.