The Davanegere police on Saturday said three men were arrested on December 10 as a result of a probe into a complaint by a builder that uncovered one of the largest cybercrime rackets in Karnataka.
The accused in police custody include the original complainant Pramod Kumar, Arfath Pasha from Belur in Hassan district and Sanjay Kund from Ahmedabad in Gujarat, said police, adding that a total of ₹18 crore was frozen in Pasha’s account as criminal proceeds.
Police added that in the course of the probe, evidence suggesting collusion across state borders.
“As the investigation progressed, we realised that the scale of the fraud was far bigger than what was initially suspected. The total scale of illegal transactions has now crossed ₹1,000 crore,” said superintendent of police (SP) Uma Prashanth. “Given the interstate nature of the crime and the huge volume of transactions, we have handed over the case to the CID for a comprehensive investigation,” he added.
According to Prashanth, Pramod, who owns a construction firm, lodged a complaint on December 1at the Davanegere cyber police station, alleging that ₹52 lakh was siphoned off from his bank account by unknown miscreants.
{{/usCountry}}According to Prashanth, Pramod, who owns a construction firm, lodged a complaint on December 1at the Davanegere cyber police station, alleging that ₹52 lakh was siphoned off from his bank account by unknown miscreants.
{{/usCountry}}A case was subsequently registered under relevant sections of the BNS, said the SP.
Based on the complaint, police initiated an investigation that ascertained that over ₹150 crore was moved through the account. At this stage in the probe, said Prashanth, the complainant came under the police’s scanner.
The SP added that investigation officers found that the racket involved the alleged misuse of current accounts to launder large illegal proceeds from multiple cyber fraud operations such as illegal online gaming, gambling platforms, fake trading applications and others. “Huge amounts were being routed, including funds originating from abroad, especially Dubai,” the SP said.
“Pramod allegedly allowed the racket to utilise his account in exchange for a commission. When that was not paid, he claimed that the money in his account was stolen and filed a police complaint,” said the SP.