Operation Chakra V: How CBI Arrested Tech Scam Mastermind Who Fled to UAE After Duping Japanese Nationals

New Delhi: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has arrested the mastermind of a cyber fraud racket that duped Japanese nationals.The accused, Dwibendu Moharana, had fled to the UAE after the CBI carried

out raids and arrested six members of his racket.On 28th May, the probe agency carried out searches at 19 locations in Delhi, Haryana, and Uttar Pradesh. "Two illegal call centres were dismantled, which were engaged in a sophisticated transnational tech support scam targeting Japanese nationals," said the CBI.On "specific intelligence," the anti-corruption federal probe agency registered a case against the cyber-criminal organised syndicate that was duping foreign nationals, particularly Japanese nationals."The accused posed as technical support personnel from reputed multinational corporations, including Microsoft. The syndicate operated call centres designed to appear as legitimate customer service centers, through which victims were deceived into believing that their electronic devices were compromised. Under this pretext, victims were coerced into transferring funds into mule accounts," the CBI said in a statement.Searches in May were carried out in close coordination with the National Police Agency of Japan and Microsoft Corporation and were part of 'Operation Chakra V'.After two illegal call centres were busted and six operatives were arrested, the main accused Moharana fled to Dubai. He operated a call centre, Voip Connect Pvt Limited, in Noida.CBI investigations and questioning of the arrested accused revealed that Moharana's call centre in Noida was an elaborate setup."The illegal call centre was involved in sophisticated social engineering and deception, impersonating support personnel from multinational companies to coerce Japanese victims into transferring funds under false pretenses," said the CBI on Saturday.Yesterday, on his return from the UAE, Moharana was arrested at Bhubaneswar airport. "Moharana was brought to Delhi on a transit warrant and produced before the CBI court. He has been remanded to police custody for three days for custodial interrogation," said officials.So far, the CBI has arrested seven individuals in this case. A chargesheet has been filed, and six accused are in judicial custody.