Promising jobs to unsuspecting youths, taking control of their bank accounts and using them to launder cyber fraud proceeds before converting the money into cryptocurrency: this was the modus operandi of a cybercrime network busted by Lucknow Police under Operation CYVAJRA, officials said on Thursday.
The Hazratganj police and the Central Zone cyber team arrested three people, including a woman, for allegedly operating a network of “mule accounts” used to channel money generated through online frauds. Police also froze nearly ₹5 lakh lying in the accounts linked to the racket.
The arrested accused were identified as Varun Kant Sharma (30) of Badaun, Prem Kumar alias Vimal of Farrukhabad, and a woman whose identity has not been disclosed.
“Police recovered 23 ATM cards, 13 passbooks, nine cheque books and five mobile phones from their possession,” said ACP Hazratganj Rajneesh Verma.
According to the ACP, the accused lured people from nearby towns and villages with promises of employment and persuaded them to open bank accounts. They allegedly collected the account holders’ ATM cards, passbooks, cheque books, SIM cards and internet banking credentials, giving the gang complete control over the accounts.
“During interrogation, police said Prem Kumar disclosed that the account details were shared through Telegram with two handlers identified as Amit and Dinesh Singh, who allegedly passed them on to Chinese cyber fraud operators. Once money from cyber frauds was deposited into these accounts, it was withdrawn immediately through ATMs and cheque books. The cash was then allegedly converted into USDT (Tether cryptocurrency) before being routed to overseas operators,” said ADCP Central JK Dubey.
{{/usCountry}}“During interrogation, police said Prem Kumar disclosed that the account details were shared through Telegram with two handlers identified as Amit and Dinesh Singh, who allegedly passed them on to Chinese cyber fraud operators. Once money from cyber frauds was deposited into these accounts, it was withdrawn immediately through ATMs and cheque books. The cash was then allegedly converted into USDT (Tether cryptocurrency) before being routed to overseas operators,” said ADCP Central JK Dubey.
{{/usCountry}}“Two alleged handlers, Amit and Dinesh Singh, are absconding and efforts are underway to trace them. We are also examining whether the network was linked to other interstate or international cyber fraud operations,” added the ADCP.