'Baseless': Chhattisgarh IPS officer on ₹1 cr bribery charge in cyber-fraud case

Rahul Bansal said a complaint is currently under consideration by a court, and he has complete faith in the law

Rahul Bansal, a 2022 batch Indian Police Service officer posted in Chhattisgarh’s Surguja district, who allegedly received ₹1 crore to settle a cyber-fraud case along with two other police personnel, has refuted the allegation as baseless. “The complaint is currently under consideration by the court, and I have complete faith in the court and law,” said Bansal.

Rahul Bansal has been named in the case along with assistant sub-inspector Praveen Kumar Rathore and constable Anshul Sharma. (Photo Credit: Instagram/@rahulbansal.27)

Bansal said that a case was registered in July 2025 with Surguja’s Cyber Police Station over an alleged fraud of around ₹21 lakh in share trading. “During the investigation, it came to light that an organised gang, which was initially operating from Dubai and later shifted to India, allegedly lured victims through social media advertisements to invest money on fake trading platforms,” said Bansal.

Bansal claimed that the probe into the flow of funds led investigators to a fintech company, which allegedly converted the fraud proceeds into cash and subsequently routed them through hawala channels. “Further investigation revealed transactions of around ₹1,880 crore in cryptocurrency wallets over approximately four months, which were allegedly linked to the gang’s operators.”

Bansal said 23 accused have been arrested from eight states, and five charge sheets running into thousands of pages, along with digital evidence, have been filed before the concerned court.

Bansal has been named in the case along with assistant sub-inspector Praveen Kumar Rathore and constable Anshul Sharma.

A special court in Delhi has sought action taken reports from the Chhattisgarh Police chief and the Central Bureau of Investigation director. The complainant has submitted alleged WhatsApp chats and call recordings as supporting material.

According to the complaint, the alleged ₹1 crore payment was made through hawala channels in two instalments of ₹50 lakh each in May 2026. The allegations emerged from the investigation of a cyber-fraud case registered in Surguja.

Ravi Mohan Goswami, the complainant, alleged that he was cheated of ₹21.15 lakh through 84 online transactions. He was allegedly lured into investing in the stock market and forex trading through online platforms.

What began as a complaint involving ₹21.15 lakh expanded into an alleged multi-layered cyber-fraud network involving fake trading platforms, overseas call centres, mule bank accounts, fintech payment gateways, dummy firms, hawala channels and cryptocurrency transfers.

Chhattisgarh Police said the investigation against the alleged masterminds and other members of the network continues.

The charge sheets allege that the fraud was presented to victims as a legitimate investment business. Callers, including those based in Dubai, contacted potential investors and persuaded them to invest in platforms such as MoneyTrade365, SmartTrade365 and VTFX. The platforms were allegedly designed to look like genuine trading applications.

One of the charge sheets said a software allowed operators to control trading points, withdrawals and account access. When victims attempted to withdraw their money, their accounts could be put on hold, or they could be told that there was a software problem.

In some cases, small amounts were allegedly returned to investors to build confidence and persuade them to invest more. Tele-calling was allegedly a key part of the operation. Several accused are alleged to have worked from Dubai, contacting potential victims and persuading them to invest through the fake platforms.

One alleged caller worked under a handler and contacted victims through Money Trade 365, while another was allegedly recruited by the suspected masterminds and paid ₹35,000 to ₹40,000 a month.

Inspector general Deepak Jha said they have identified Anshul Ginotra and Garvit Jain among the alleged owners or masterminds of the syndicate. “They are among those being investigated and are absconding. The software infrastructure formed another crucial part of the alleged operation.”

Jha said police have identified Limbani Avnik Mansukhbhai, alias Chirag, as the alleged master software architect. He added investigators reportedly recovered source code for 38 trading websites from his devices. “These platforms allegedly catered to around 19,340 users.”

MoneyTrade365 and SmartTrade365, the two platforms examined, were linked to 4,109 users. Jha said their cryptocurrency transaction trail exceeded ₹1,880 crore over about four months.

Investigators said that money was routed through multiple accounts and entities to distance the proceeds from the people controlling the operation.

Jha said some accused allegedly gave corporate current accounts opened in the names of dummy firms such as SS Enterprises and Guru Enterprises. One alleged account provider is accused of arranging over 15 corporate current accounts with IDBI Bank, Axis Bank, Bandhan Bank, State Bank of India and Bank of Maharashtra. ₹1.5 lakh was allegedly charged for each account.

Another alleged account provider, described as a relative of one of the suspected masterminds, allegedly floated Kalpana Enterprises and provided 11 current accounts. The probe has also pointed to the alleged misuse of Go-Payment’s payment infrastructure.

According to a charge sheet’s summary, some regional and state-level officials within the fintech operation allegedly helped bypass KYC requirements. An advocate and facilitator allegedly created 15 to 20 agent or distributor IDs using unverified SIM cards, incomplete KYC documents, and fake shop banners.

One virtual ID registered in the name of a mule allegedly processed ₹8.86 crore through 822 transactions on a single day on October 6, 2025.

Investigators said that after the money moved through the payment system, a portion was converted into physical cash and subsequently into cryptocurrencies. The digital assets were allegedly transferred internationally. Investigators suspect that some of the money was used to settle gaming or betting-related balances and server costs.

The accused allegedly used pseudonyms, virtual numbers and mobile connections registered in other people’s names. The use of dummy firms, mule accounts and payment gateways created multiple layers between victims and the alleged ultimate beneficiaries, making the money trail more difficult to trace.

Investigators say the cryptocurrency trail recovered from the phones of absconding accused Ginotra and Jain showed transactions of around ₹1,880 crore over roughly four months. The trail subsequently led investigators to other alleged beneficiaries and another arrest, pointing to a larger network through which fraud proceeds were allegedly moved outside India.

Digital evidence indicated that the network may have been operating since 2022, according to investigators.