CBI busts cyber fraud syndicate, Rs 2.8 crore in virtual assets seized

NEW DELHI: In a major crackdown on international cybercrime, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) picked up Rahul Arora from one of three places raided as part of its operation ‘Chakra-V’ in progress. Arora is accused of leading a cybercrime gang that targeted citizens in the United States and Canada by posing as government officials and representatives of leading computer support companies.

Reliable intelligence on the group’s operations from India led to the filing of the case. The CBI investigation found that the syndicate used to conduct massive cyber fraud, using social engineering methods to trap victims and technology tools for caller number suppression and lead generation for scams.

In the raids, CBI had found massive evidence, such as voice calls, call logs on digital communication, and the software that was used for spoofing global calls. In a major breakthrough, the officials had also confiscated Virtual Digital Assets (VDA) worth Rs 2.8 crore and unexplained cash worth Rs 22 lakh from Rahul Arora’s possession.

Arora was arrested and is being brought before the Special CBI Court. Officials stated that he played a key role in operating the syndicate business and laundering crime proceeds using virtual assets.

CBI has built indigenous capability for seizure and handling VDAs, a technological advancement for India’s battle against cyber-enabled financial crimes. This seizure is part of a string of successful operations under the ‘Chakra-V’ initiative to bust digital fraud networks nationwide.

Investigation into the larger network and financial trail continues.