Bengaluru police have arrested 10 individuals in connection with a Chinese-linked racket that converted local currency to cryptocurrency as part of an online jobs fraud scheme.
Police Commissioner B. Dayananda announced the arrests on Friday, identifying the suspects as Sayed Yahya (33), Mohammed Umar Faruk (32), Mohammed Maheen (20), Mohammed Muzammil (21), Tejas (28), Chethan (25), Wasim Akram (29), Mohammed Syed Zaid (22), Sahi Abdul Anan (22), and Om Prakash (29). The primary kingpins of the operation are based in China, with the first five suspects and Zaid residing in RT Nagar.
The investigation began on July 3 after a victim reported being conned of ₹25.37 lakh between June 20 and July 1. The fraudsters contacted the victim via WhatsApp, offering easy money for completing online tasks. After initial payouts, the victim was coerced into further investments in cryptocurrency.
The police discovered that the suspects obscured the money trail by transferring funds to mule accounts, withdrawing cash from ATMs, and converting it to cryptocurrency through peer-to-peer networks in Bengaluru. The cryptocurrency was then sent to their Chinese associates, who offered a 1.5% commission for successful transactions.
Following leads, police arrested several suspects on September 13, seizing 99 debit cards, 50 bank passbooks, 41 SIM cards, a laptop, 23 mobile phones, and ₹1.24 lakh in cash. Yahya, Faruk, and Maheen were apprehended at Bengaluru airport on September 15 after returning from a trip to China where they met the kingpins.
Police also conducted raids at various locations, recovering additional SIM cards, debit cards, passbooks, and electronic devices. They have frozen ₹7.34 lakh linked to the crime, and bank accounts involved have been flagged in 122 cybercrime cases across 21 states, including nine in Karnataka.
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