Surat man held for aiding Rs 10 crore transfer to Pakistan-based crypto wallet
Ahmedabad (PTI): Police have arrested a resident of Surat in Gujarat, identified as Chetan Gangani, for allegedly helping a gang of cyber fraudsters transfer Rs 10 crore to a Pakistan-based cryptocurrency wallet, officials said.
Gangani was taken into custody as part of an ongoing investigation into ‘mule’ bank accounts being used by scamsters to launder proceeds of cybercrime, Gujarat police CID-Crime's Cyber Centre of Excellence said in a release on Saturday.
The accused had links with six persons, arrested on November 3 from Morbi, Surendranagar, Surat and Amreli districts, for allegedly routing Rs 200 crore to Dubai-based cybercriminals using nearly 100 mule accounts, the release said.
A mule account is a bank account used by criminals to receive, transfer, or launder illicit funds with or without the knowledge of the account holder, according to officials.
Gangani helped the cyber gang members arrested earlier convert Rs 10 crore into cryptocurrency USDT, or Tether, and then send it to a Pakistan-based wallet through his “BitGet crypto wallet” over four months, the release said.
He received a commission of 0.10 per cent on each USDT, it said. The police did not disclose the total monetary value of his commission.
According to the police, the six persons held earlier had provided 100 mule accounts to cybercriminals across Gujarat. These accounts were used in 386 cases, including digital arrests, task frauds, investment frauds, loan frauds and part-time job scams, registered across the country.
Gujarat Deputy Chief Minister Harsh Sanghavi, who handles the home portfolio, on Saturday said the CID-Crime has cracked down on a “major cross-border cybercrime network”.
“In a major breakthrough, the Gujarat Cyber Crime Center of Excellence has dismantled a large-scale 'Mule Account' network operating across multiple districts Morbi, Surendranagar, Surat, and Savarkundla with direct financial links traced to Pakistan,” he said on X.
The cyber crime team “meticulously tracked the money trail” through seven layers, from initial Indian accounts to cryptocurrency (USDT) transactions, he said.
“The probe revealed transfer of Rs 10 crore to a Pakistani Binance USDT account, which has cumulatively received over Rs 25 crore from Indian accounts and this gang being one of the major sources,” Sanghavi added.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Lebanon appoints new representative for talks with Israel, rejects linkage to Iran
Beirut: Lebanon’s has moved to underline its independent position in ongoing regional developments, amid attempts to link the country to the broader conflict involving Iran, the United States and Israel.
President Joseph Aoun, while announcing the appointment of former US ambassador Simon Karam as Lebanon’s representative in talks with Israel, made it clear that Karam would be the sole representative for Lebanon and that there would be no substitute.
The move comes in response to what the Lebanese officials see as efforts by Iran to tie Lebanon’s situation to the wider regional conflict. Iran had indicated that there would be no ceasefire involving the US, Israel and Iran unless it also included a ceasefire in Lebanon.
Some groups, including Hezbollah and its supporters, had expressed support for linking the situations, citing concerns that the Lebanese government has limited leverage in negotiations with Israel. Lebanon is not formally a party to the conflict, and its army is considered weak.
However, others, including Prime Minister Nawaf Salam, have opposed this approach. They view Iran’s stance as an attempt to influence Lebanon’s internal affairs and see it as undermining the country’s sovereignty.
Officials backing the government’s position say the move is aimed at reaffirming Lebanon’s sovereignty and ensuring that decisions about peace and ceasefire within the country are not dictated externally.
They also see it as a safeguard, so that any breakdown in talks between the US, Israel and Iran does not automatically lead to renewed conflict in Lebanon.
