Delhi man held for ₹2 crore cyber fraud, links with Chinese-linked syndicate
Bhupesh Arora, originally from Karnal and currently residing in northwest Delhi’s Rohini Sector 11, operates a four-star hotel and eight nightclubs in Dubai, police said, adding that he was taken into custody on Wednesday upon returning to India and is now on a four-day police remand
Gurugram: Faridabad police arrested a 39-year-old Delhi resident, who runs a hotel and nightclub in Dubai, for allegedly orchestrating a ₹2.02 crore cyber fraud in collaboration with a Chinese-linked syndicate, officials said on Friday.
Bhupesh Arora, originally from Karnal and currently residing in northwest Delhi’s Rohini Sector 11, operates a four-star hotel and eight nightclubs in Dubai, police said, adding that he was taken into custody on Wednesday upon returning to India and is now on a four-day police remand.
According to investigators, Arora and his business partner, also based in Dubai, ran a cyber fraud operation alongside their hospitality ventures. The duo facilitated illegal fund transfers from India to Dubai using payment gateways, later converting the funds into cryptocurrencies and handing them over to Chinese handlers after deducting a commission.
Police said Arora was compelled to return to India 20 days back on the directions of the Punjab and Haryana high court. Faridabad police had got a lookout circular issued for him against which he had moved the high court. Though the court had quashed the circular, it had directed him to come to India and cooperate with the Faridabad police by joining the investigation of the case.
Yashpal Yadav, Faridabad Police PRO, said investigators traced Arora through a payment gateway account linked to him, into which ₹2.8 lakh of the duped money was transferred. “This payment gateway helped us identify Arora. The bank account holder couldn’t be traced and may have been created fraudulently,” he said.
Arora allegedly retained 30% of the proceeds, with the remaining 70% going to his Dubai-based partner, who liaised directly with the Chinese network, Yadav said.
Arora is the 12th person arrested in this case. Police are now pursuing his business partner and three others. “We will issue an LOC against his partner so he can be arrested on arrival in India,” said Yadav.
The victim, whose name police have witheld, a 51-year-old man from Sector 88 in Faridabad, was duped in January 2024 after falling for a fake investment scheme promoted through social media ads. Believing he was investing in stock markets, he transferred ₹2.02 crore to 11 different bank accounts.
A case was registered at the Cybercrime Police Station (Central), and police have so far recovered ₹60 lakh, which was returned to the victim. The remaining amount, officers said, had already been siphoned abroad.
