: Four people allegedly involved in a cyber fraud worth approximately ₹116.86 crore were arrested by a joint team of the cyber crime cell and Chetganj police, officials said.
The arrested accused have been identified as Nitish Kumar Pandey, 32, Dushyant Singh, 34, Himanshu Jha, 25, and Mohd Rehan, assistant commissioner of police, Cyber crime, Vinay Kumar Dwivedi, said.
Dwivedi said 143 complaints had been registered against the accused on the National Cybercrime Reporting Portal (NCRP). The complaints were related to cyber fraud involving a total of 41 bank accounts.
According to the ACP, the accused used to lure people in Varanasi with promises of commission. They then got firms registered in the names of these people and opened bank accounts in the names of the firms.
The accused would subsequently obtain the bank kits and internet banking details of the current accounts linked to the firms. These accounts were then allegedly used for investment fraud and betting apps.
The money earned through cyber fraud was transferred to different bank accounts and circulated to conceal its source and flow, Dwivedi said.
{{/usCountry}}The money earned through cyber fraud was transferred to different bank accounts and circulated to conceal its source and flow, Dwivedi said.
{{/usCountry}}The accused allegedly installed an APK file named XePay on their mobile phones. They then entered the account details and internet banking usernames and passwords obtained from the people into the application.
Through the XePay application, the SMS forwarding facility was activated on the mobile phones. The accused allegedly used the OTPs received on the phones to transfer money from the cyber fraud to different bank accounts.
The money was then circulated through multiple accounts to conceal the source and destination of the funds, the ACP said.
A case has been registered against the accused under sections 318(4), 317(2), 317(4), 112(2) and 61(2B) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) at Chetganj police station.
A police team has also been deployed to arrest Prateek Tiwari alias Bunty, a resident of Samne Ghat in Varanasi, and Romil Verma, who are also allegedly involved in the case.
Police recovered seven mobile phones, including four iPhones and three Android phones, along with a laptop, 19 cheque books, six passbooks and 40 debit cards.
The recovered items also included two credit cards, four shopping cards, one Green Remit Card, one gaming card and one driving licence.