CBI raids 15 locations in four states in Rs 900 cr online investment fraud case

NEW DELHI: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) conducted raids at 15 locations in Delhi, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, and Punjab in an online investment fraud and part-time job scam. These raids are a part of a large-scale online investment fraud and part-time job scams involving offshore transactions and fintech platforms in foreign countries, including Dubai-based fintech firm Pyypl.

The raids were conducted by the CBI based on a complaint from the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C) under the Ministry of Home Affairs. Thousands of Indian citizens have been duped of crores of rupees through an online investment fraud scheme by a transnational fraud network.

The investigation revealed that the fraud network used social media platforms, mobile apps, and messaging apps to lure people with the promise of high returns through online investments and part-time jobs. Initially, people were asked to invest a small amount in these fraud schemes. Later, after gaining their trust with the promise of high returns on investment, people were asked to invest a larger amount in these fraud schemes. The fraudulent funds were quickly transferred through several mule accounts, thereby concealing the money trail. The money was further transferred through offshore ATM transactions using debit cards that facilitate international transactions. The investigators have further stated that the money was transferred through top-ups made on offshore fintech platforms, primarily Pyypl, using Visa and MasterCard networks, and such transactions are reflected as point-of-sale transactions.

The CBI has identified Ashok Kumar Sharma, a chartered accountant based in Bijwasan village, a location near the Delhi-Gurugram border, as the kingpin of the racket. He is believed to have transferred hundreds of crores of rupees through mule accounts and offshore financial systems. A portion of the money was further converted into cryptocurrency.

During further investigations, another channel through which Sharma is believed to have transferred approximately Rs 900 crores over the past year was identified. The money was transferred into accounts of 15 shell companies and further transferred through two accounts before being converted into USDT through virtual asset exchanges based in India and transferred to whitelisted accounts.