Gujarat cops bust gang for cyber crimes involving Rs 719 cr; bank staff among 10 arrested
Ahmedabad (PTI): The Gujarat police has busted a gang and arrested 10 persons, including bank staff, for their alleged involvement in inter-state and international cyber crimes involving Rs 719 crore, officials said on Monday.
According to Gandhinagar's Cyber Centre of Excellence, the accused were involved in receiving cyber fraud money in mule bank accounts and converting them into cash and crypto currency before sending them to cyber crime syndicate gang members based in Dubai and having connections with Chinese gangs.
"Ten accused, including bank staff, were arrested by Cyber Centre of Excellence for their involvement in inter-state and international cyber crime cases involving Rs 719 crore," stated an official release.
"For their own financial gain, they used to deposit the stolen money of cyber crime victims across India into the mule bank accounts through various modus operandi and send it to the accused of cybercrime syndicate sitting in Dubai/China through cheque withdrawal, online apps, crypto transactions and angadia. Police used technical analysis to trace the cyber fraud," it said.
Police said a total of 1594 cyber frauds were committed by international and inter-state gangs in 26 states and six Union territories, including 300 in Maharashtra, 203 in Tamil Nadu, 194 in Karnataka, 128 in Telangana, 97 in Gujarat, 91 in Kerala, 88 in Uttar Pradesh, 74 in Delhi, 64 in Andhra Pradesh, 60 in West Bengal, 42 in Rajasthan and 253 in various other states.
A total of 719 crore from 1,447 cyber fraud cases across India was transferred into 110 mule bank accounts of Bhavnagar branch of Indusind Bank from 130 payee bank accounts, the release said.
Police said 1594 cyber crimes were committed by the gang in different states of the country, including investment fraud, digital fraud, UPI-related fraud, deposit fraud, loan fraud, part-time job fraud, task fraud, and vishing call fraud.
More than 30 crypto wallets and 14 mobile phones were seized from their possession, police added.
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Real Madrid fines Valverde and Tchouaméni half a million euros each for altercation
Barcelona (AP): Real Madrid slapped players Federico Valverde and Aurélien Tchouaméni with half-a-million-euro ($588,000) fines on Friday for their altercation during practice.
The massive fines came a day after the midfielders tussled when the team trained. Valverde said in a post on social media on Thursday that no punches were thrown. But Valverde knocked his head on a table and he suffered a small cut that required a brief hospital visit.
On social media, Valverde initially called it a “meaningless fight” with a teammate and said “everything has been blown out of proportion."
His employers, however, considered it a significant enough breach of team discipline to nail both Valverde and Tchouaméni with fines that bite even the bank account of a top soccer player. The half-a-million euro penalties reflect the reputational damage the club was enduring in a chaotic end to a disappointing season.
In a statement, the 15-time European champion said its disciplinary action was concluded after both players expressed to the club “their complete remorse for what happened and apologized to one another.”
Madrid added they also apologized to their teammates, the coaching staff and club supporters, as well as showing their willingness to accept whatever disciplinary action the club deemed “opportune.”
Tchouaméni was back training with Madrid on Friday, two days before they play at Barcelona in a clasico. Madrid has to win otherwise Barcelona will be crowned La Liga champion.
After being notified of the fine, he posted a public apology to the club and its fans on social media.
“What happened this week in training is unacceptable,” Tchouaméni wrote. "I say this while thinking about the example we are expected to set for young people, whether in football or at school.
“Above all, I am sorry for the image we projected of the club.”
Valverde was not at practice due to the head knock.
Both players are set to play in the World Cup next month, with Tchouaméni playing for France and Valverde for Uruguay.
Chaotic end to a poor season
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The run-in between the players, who for seasons have played side by side in Madrid's midfield, came after they argued this week in previous training sessions. But tempers boiled over on Thursday. Spanish media was rife with reports that the players previously disagreed over the club's decision to let coach Xabi Alonso go after just months on the job.
It was not the only altercation involving Madrid players during training this week. Álvaro Carreras confirmed he was in a “minor” incident with a teammate. Spanish media said he and fellow defender Antonio Rüdiger got into a scuffle.
Álvaro Arbeloa, the coach who was promoted from Madrid's reserve team when Alonso was fired in January, will face tough questions on what went wrong inside the changing room when he gives a press conference on Saturday ahead of the clasico at Camp Nou.
Madrid is facing a second consecutive campaign without a major trophy amid rumors in the Spanish media that club president Florentino Pérez is considering bringing back Jose Mourinho to straighten out his underperforming team.
