New Delhi, Aug 8 (PTI) The Delhi Police has arrested five members of a notorious cyber fraud gang operating out of Rajasthan for allegedly duping people through fake investment tasks on social media and
routing the money to Chinese fraudsters using cryptocurrency, an official said on Friday.
The accused have been identified as Ravindra Vishnoi (28), Mahipal (27), Mohd Yaseen, Rohit Nimbawat alias Ronny (24) and Yash Vaishnav (23), police said. A money trail of over Rs 42 lakh was traced during the investigation.
"Acting on a complaint lodged on June 12, a team of the southwest cyber police station launched an investigation into a case where a man was duped of Rs 17.31 lakh through a fake investment scheme shared on social media," Deputy Commissioner of Police (Southwest) Amit Goel said.
The officer further said that the complainant, a resident of Munirka, was initially asked to complete review tasks for hotels and promised Rs 50 per task. After receiving initial payments, he was directed to register on a website and gradually enticed to invest larger amounts ranging from Rs 2,000 to Rs 1.5 lakh with the promise of returns up to 40 per cent.
"He was shown increasing account balances and asked to pay further sums to complete tasks or unfreeze his account. Eventually, he was duped of a total of Rs 17.31 lakh," said the DCP.
An FIR was registered and further investigation was taken up. The accused used mule accounts and proxy SIMs to evade detection. During the probe, police first apprehended Mohd Yaseen, who had sold his bank account to co-accused Rohit Nimbawat and Yash Vaishnav.
The duo was subsequently arrested after raids in Rajasthan. They revealed that they were supplying mule accounts to Ravindra Vishnoi, described by police as the kingpin of the gang.
"Raids were later conducted in multiple cities, including Jodhpur, Balotra, Jaipur and Delhi. Vishnoi was eventually traced and apprehended from Bolinj in Maharashtra’s Palghar district. His associate Mahipal was also arrested," he added.
Police said Vishnoi used to operate a pharmacy shop and was in contact with China-based fraudsters. He provided them with mule bank accounts for transferring the cheated money and converted the amount into USDT, a cryptocurrency, before transferring it abroad.
Mahipal, who ran a mobile shop in Jodhpur, allegedly lured locals into giving up their bank accounts for commission, which were then used in the fraudulent transactions.
"Vishnoi and Mahipal were not only supplying mule accounts to Chinese fraudsters but were also facilitating transfers through crypto platforms. The gang also had access to mule accounts based in Nepal and Singapore," the officer said.
Police said the gang was involved in at least seven other complaints registered on the National Cybercrime Reporting Portal (NCRP), which have been linked to the accounts used in the current case.
A total of 10 mobile phones, 12 proxy SIM cards, seven mule bank accounts, seven debit cards, two routers and three suspect identity documents were recovered from their possession. Further investigation is underway, police added. PTI BM HIG
