CBI Cracks Down on Rs 260 Crore Cyber Scam Exploiting Cryptocurrency

The Central Bureau of Investigation has charged three individuals in connection with a Rs 260 crore transnational cyber scam involving cryptocurrencies and targeting US and Canadian citizens via fraudulent call centers. Those charged include key figures who managed operations, deceiving foreign nationals and laundering proceeds through bitcoins.

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has filed a chargesheet against three individuals in an elaborate transnational call center fraud case involving cryptocurrencies worth Rs 260 crore, according to an agency statement released on Friday. The fraud targeted foreign nationals, particularly in the USA and Canada. The accused have been identified as Tushar Kharbanda, Gaurav Malik, and Ankit Jain.

Following a comprehensive investigation, the charges have been made under various sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), the Information Technology Act, and other legislative offenses. The scam was uncovered after the Royal Canadian Mounted Police provided information to India's National Central Bureau, leading to an FIR registered under multiple sections of the IPC and IT Act, 2000.

One of the accused, Tushar Kharbanda, allegedly posed as an RCMP officer to convince a victim that their identity was being misused for fraud, coercing the transfer of 93,000 Canadian Dollars into cryptocurrency via Bitcoin ATMs connected to crypto wallets controlled by Kharbanda and his associates. Operating out of a call center in Delhi-Noida, Kharbanda and his co-accused Gaurav Malik employed over 150 tele-callers to impersonate foreign law enforcement agents, tech support systems, and other entities, ensnaring primarily elderly US and Canadian citizens.

The CBI's searches unearthed scripts outlining various fraud schemes, credentials of US victims, and evidence of impersonation of US agency officials on devices seized from the accused's properties, shedding light on the enterprise's operational span. Furthermore, Ankit Jain's involvement tied into managing crypto wallets, aiding in the conversion of stolen Bitcoins to USDT, and facilitating the withdrawal of over 316 Bitcoins, equivalent to INR 260 Crore, in Dubai by the organized gang.

(With inputs from agencies.)