Greed for flashy life led Lucknow youths into crypto scam: Police

Investigators found that the young men, aged 19 to 21, were lured through Telegram job groups and tasked with laundering ₹1.77 crore through multiple bank accounts. The scam proceeds were converted into USDT (Tether (USDT)) cryptocurrency and routed abroad under the instructions of overseas operatives.

Aspirations for a flashy lifestyle, quick money, and social media-driven notions of success prompted several Lucknow youths to become ground-level agents in an international cyber fraud racket linked to Chinese handlers, Brijesh Yadav, station-house officer, Cyber Crime police station, said, who led Wednesday’s crackdown.

City youngsters who were nabbed by Lucknow police on Wednesday. (Sourced)

Investigators found that the young men, aged 19 to 21, were lured through Telegram job groups and tasked with laundering ₹1.77 crore through multiple bank accounts. The scam proceeds were converted into USDT (Tether (USDT)) cryptocurrency and routed abroad under the instructions of overseas operatives. “One of the accused said he got involved in funding outings with his girlfriend, while another cited pressure to maintain a luxurious lifestyle,” the SHO said on Thursday.

Police said the group was not comprised of seasoned criminals but of impressionable youth attracted by financial gains. “They weren’t hardened criminals, just youngsters driven by greed,” a senior official involved in the investigation said.

The SHO said that the fraudsters operated from DLF My Pad, frequently switching rooms every one to two days to avoid detection. “They followed commands from handlers abroad and kept changing locations within the building. Even if police tracked them via surveillance, the constant room shifts made it difficult to catch them. Eventually, they were traced through the transaction chain, which pointed to the building,” he added.

Earlier, the Cyber Crime Cell and the Cyber Crime Police Station in Lucknow had arrested eight people in the case: Rahul Sonkar, 22, Raj Rawat, 21, Mohd Salman, 28, Devansh Shukla, 19, Mozin, 21, Faizan, 21, Ankit Yadav, 21, and Karan Rawat, 19.

Deputy commissioner of police (DCP) crime Kamlesh Dixit confirmed that related fraud complaints have emerged from Maharashtra, Kerala, Haryana, Tamil Nadu, and Assam. Investigators said the use of USDT, a cryptocurrency with global reach and anonymity, made it the preferred medium for moving the funds.