Cyber fraud worth Rs 100 cr busted by Uttarakhand STF, two held; role of foreign criminals suspected

The team has confiscated three mobiles, 203 debit cards, 15 ATM cards, four laptops, a luxury vehicle, and fake bank account papers from the accused. The electronics also have a record of the transactions which amount to a total of approximately Rs 100 crores so far, while the further investigation leading to concrete figures is still underway.

Dehradun: A joint team of Uttarakhand Special Task Force (STF) and Uttarakhand Cyber ​​Crime Police on Saturday unearthed a case of cyber fraud and money laundering worth approximately Rs 100 crores in Bhopal. The police officials also arrested two people who have been identified as Rachit Sharma and Suresh Yadav. While the investigation in the matter is still underway, the STF suspects the involvement of a full-fledged gang with international links in the matter.

The case first came to light after a man from Dehradun has been duped for Rs 15 lakhs by Rohit, one of the members of the gang involved. Rohit had reportedly created some fake websites with the help of his associates to dupe people for money. Arrested from Faridkot in Punjab, Rohit had reportedly pulled this crime off under the garb of business of gold, spices, and liquor. During the investigation of this matter by the STF, he revealed that he deposited all the amount in USDT currency through Binance Wallet, and mentioned connections of the matter with the State Bank of Mauritius.

Leading with this chunk of information, the STF investigated the matter further and realized that the roots of this crime go deeper. The team then reached out to the State Bank of Mauritius and analyzed the records there, thus tracking the names of the two arrested yesterday. Consequently, the STF team also realized the magnanimous extent of the money possibly laundered by this gang across years through the transaction records. The team tracked the whereabouts of the suspects Rachit and Suresh, raided their current residences in Awadhpuri, Bhopal, and caught them with evidence.

The team has confiscated three mobiles, 203 debit cards, 15 ATM cards, four laptops, a luxury vehicle, and fake bank account papers from the accused. The electronics also have a record of the transactions which amount to a total of approximately Rs 100 crores so far, while the further investigation leading to concrete figures is still underway.

According to the preliminary information received, one of the arrested Rachit Sharma would claim to be a film producer and ask people to invest money in foreign films eventually executing the money laundering. The gang also additionally made some fake investments in the name of broadcasting half a dozen films like Vengeance of Zombies and Silent Night, Bloody Night, which is also being investigated. Vengeance of Zombies was a 1973 Spanish film, whereas Silent Night, Bloody Night was a 1972 American movie.

These crimes that fall under the category of money laundering as well as cybercrime, were reportedly executed from Cambodia and Hong Kong through fake websites. The STF officials are still probing the matter, hoping to get access to the further branchings of the matter.