Rs 5-crore cyber fraud racket busted, 4 held

The Delhi Police have busted multiple syndicates involved in large-scale investment and digital arrest frauds, arresting four men and tracing Rs 5-crore cryptocurrency trail linked to Dubai-based handlers.

According to the police, coordinated raids were conducted across Delhi, Haryana, Punjab, and Uttarakhand. Several mobile phones, SIM cards, laptops, debit and credit cards and documents were seized. Investigators also uncovered fake firms and mule accounts used to launder and conceal cheated money.

“The crackdown is part of an ongoing drive against cyber-enabled financial crime involving impersonation, intimidation and fake investment schemes,” DCP (Crime) Aditya Gautam said.

The first accused, Atul Sharma of Haryana, was arrested for his role in an investment scam run by Dubai-based handler Sumit Garg. He allegedly used financially weak individuals to open accounts for fake firms and routed illicit funds through them. The police traced cryptocurrency transactions worth Rs 5 crore to three wallets linked to the syndicate.

In another operation, Rahul Manda, also from Haryana, was held from Roorkee, Uttarakhand, for his role in a “digital arrest” racket. The gang posed as the police or TRAI officials to extort victims, including one who lost Rs 30 lakh. Manda, who has a prior criminal record, was found in possession of high-end gadgets.

Another accused, Varun Anchal (35) of Punjab, was involved in a similar case where a victim was duped of Rs 26.80 lakh by fraudsters posing as Mumbai Crime Branch officers. He managed mule accounts and fund transfers to overseas handlers.

The fourth accused, Amit Kumar Singh (31), a former bank employee from Bihar, supplied bank accounts to fraudsters for certain commission. He is linked to Rs 39.5-lakh investment fraud case.