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.
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Businessman lured by FB friend, attacked for extortion in K'taka; 4 held
Madikeri (Karnataka) (PTI): Four people were arrested for allegedly assaulting, illegally confining and attempting to extort money from a 39-year-old businessman who was lured through a honeytrap set up on social media, police said on Monday.
The accused have been identified as Rachana, Malati, Darshan and Ravi.
Police said efforts are underway to nab the remaining suspects involved in the incident, which occurred on December 12 in Madikeri, the district headquarters of Kodagu.
According to the complaint, the victim, a resident of Maddur taluk in Mandya district, was befriended by a woman identified as Rachana through Facebook, who later sought financial assistance and received Rs 5,000 from him via PhonePe on November 28.
When he asked her to return the money, the woman allegedly asked him to travel to Mysuru or Kushalnagar, promising to meet him.
The police said the woman later called the victim to Madikeri on December 12 and took him to a house near the market area, where they spent some time and consumed alcohol in the evening.
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Later that night, citing an emergency, the woman left the house. After her departure, three men allegedly broke into the house and attacked the victim, assaulting him with a stick and the handle of a sword, causing injuries to his face, mouth, chest and leg, the FIR stated.
The complainant alleged that he was forcibly confined, stripped and a nude video of him was recorded. The accused also allegedly threatened him with a toy gun, demanding Rs 50 lakh and warning that the video would be uploaded on social media if the money was not paid.
Police said the victim was held captive and somehow managed to escape in the early hours of December 13. However, after he escaped, the accused allegedly attempted to kidnap him in an autorickshaw, an incident that was captured on CCTV cameras.
Based on his complaint at the Madikeri Town police station, a case was registered under Sections 310(2) (dacoity), 127(2) (wrongful confinement), 118(1) (voluntarily causing hurt or grievous hurt by dangerous weapons or means) and 3(5) (common intention) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, a senior police officer said.
“Four accused, including two women, have been arrested. Efforts are on to nab two more absconding accused. Further investigation is on,” he added.
