A global cybercrime ring is busted by Kolkata police: 17 people are arrested, Rs 245 crore is stolen, and cryptocurrency is used to send money from Sri Lanka to Dubai.

 The cyber units of the Bengal Police have effectively taken down a global investment fraud network that was reportedly run by Indian chartered accountants based in Dubai.

In just two months, this complex network is alleged to have defrauded people out of Rs 245 crore. Authorities made a major breakthrough Thursday when they found 2,500 mule accounts connected to the scam and arrested 17 people. The gang operated in Sri Lanka, Dubai, and India.

The syndicate's strategy, according to investigators, was to use mule accounts to wager on internet casinos that were registered in the Caribbean island nation of Curacao.

Before being sent to Dubai, the money was laundered through cryptocurrency transactions in Sri Lanka, with the help of middlemen in Delhi and Gujarat. The group used SIM cards that weren't properly verified and hundreds of fake accounts.

According to Hari Kishore Kusumakar, Additional Director General (Cyber Crime), 704 of the 2,500 mule accounts that were under the syndicate's control were being used fraudulently.

These accounts have been reported by the national cybercrime portal in relation to more than 1,530 complaints that came from 29 Indian states.

Two months ago, a victim of an investment fraud in Bidhannagar reported losing Rs 1.1 crore, which prompted the start of the investigation. The complainant was duped into downloading a fake application from a phishing website that imitated a well-known financial management company in India.

The arrests came from a number of places, including an office in South Kolkata, a posh hotel in Kolkata, and Muzaffarpur. An employee of a private bank in Nagerbazar, Kolkata, was one of those arrested.

Three prominent members of the syndicate—all Indian nationals currently in detention—were Abhishek Bansal, a chartered accountant from Siliguri; Mayank Chaudhury, who was born in the Kutch district of Bihar; and Amit Jindal, a Faridabad native. After meeting at a casino in Nepal, the three allegedly came up with the plan.

With the help of dishonest bank staff, the gang opened numerous current accounts and set up fictitious partnership organizations. They gave its bosses in Dubai access to account information, including associated mobile phones.

They enabled OTPs to be accessible from Dubai by turning on international roaming services on the SIM cards to guarantee smooth operations.

According to Kusumakar, these mule accounts were used to wager on online gambling sites such as onthebet99.com, allpanelexch.com, and diamondexchgg.com, among others.

In order to stop such fraudulent schemes in the future, this operation emphasizes the necessity of tighter oversight of online transactions and improved verification procedures.

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