crypto-trail-leads-to-200-cr-cyber-fraud-in-surat

The scam was uncovered when police routinely checked the seat box of a moped.

 

A massive cyber fraud involving over 100 bank accounts and amounting to ₹200 crore has been uncovered in Surat. The fraud is reportedly linked to international gangs based in Cuba, China, Malaysia and other countries.

 

Last Thursday (22 May), during a routine vehicle inspection, Surat Police discovered rubber stamps and documents that appeared suspicious. Upon interrogation, the driver, Rohan, revealed that he was regularly tasked with delivering rubber stamps and documents by one Meet Khokhar.

 

When police detained Meet, they discovered that he, along with Kirat Vinod Jadwani, had opened current accounts in the names of several individuals by offering them commission for transactions carried out through their accounts.

 

Essentially, they were renting current accounts. According to sources, each account holder received ₹8 lakh to allow the fraudsters to operate an account in their name.

 

From their office, police recovered five laptops, 35 bank passbooks, ₹3.5 lakh in cash, ATM cards, a currency counting machine, and several documents.

It was also found that the duo executed cyber frauds with the help of a third person named Divyesh, who remains at large.

 

The cyber scams were carried out through a Telegram account named ‘Rich Pay’, which was reportedly operated from Cuba. The fraudulent activity had been ongoing for the past eight months. The money earned through these cyber crimes was deposited into the rented current accounts.

 

The suspects had collected a total of 10 lakh USDT through cyber frauds over a period of six months from across India. USDT is a cryptocurrency that is realised in US dollars. All the funds were deposited into 100 bank accounts across banks in Surat. There are already cyber fraud complaints registered against 35 of these 100 accounts.

 

The current accounts were opened under the names of fake textile companies using forged GST numbers.

 

To avoid international monetary tracking, the fraudsters took their final commissions in USDT.

 

Police are continuing their search for Divyesh, who is believed to be the kingpin behind the entire operation.