Mumbai: Mulund Police Bust Interstate Cyber Fraud Racket, Arrest Six In ₹72 Crore Scam

Mumbai: The Mulund police have busted an interstate cyber fraud racket allegedly involved in 255 cybercrime cases across the country and arrested six accused from Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat and Mumbai. The total amount involved in the alleged frauds is estimated at Rs72 crore, police said.

According to the police, the racket was allegedly operated from China, with the proceeds of cyber fraud converted into USDT, a cryptocurrency, and transferred abroad.

The arrested accused have been identified as Jayesh Satishchand Goyal, 26, Nikhil Sunil Kumar, 23, Rahul Vijaychandra Sambara, 23, and Ayush Raju Singhal, 28, all from Ghaziabad in Uttar Pradesh; Bhavinkumar Rajnikant Makwana, 25, from Vadodara, Gujarat; and Mohammed Tariq Aziz, 35, a resident of Nellore, Andhra Pradesh.

Police said the accused were well-educated, with one of them holding a BTech degree.

WhatsApp Impersonation Leads To Fraud

The case came to light after an accountant working for a private company in Mulund received a WhatsApp call from an unidentified person on July 30. The caller had used the company owner's photograph as his WhatsApp display picture and impersonated him to gain the accountant's trust.

The accused allegedly induced the accountant to transfer Rs10 lakh from the company's bank account, resulting in a financial loss. A case was registered at Mulund police station under Sections 318(4) and 319(2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), along with Sections 66(C) and 66(D) of the Information Technology Act.

Investigation Leads To Six Arrests

Under the leadership of Senior Police Inspector Santosh Ghatekar, the investigation team analysed bank transactions and mobile numbers linked to the crime. The probe revealed that Rs5.50 lakh of the defrauded amount had been deposited into a bank account in Meerut, Uttar Pradesh, and subsequently withdrawn through a cheque.

Based on the technical investigation, police arrested three accused from Meerut. Further interrogation led to the arrest of one more accused from Ghaziabad, another from Vadodara and a sixth from Kandivali in Mumbai. The police have recovered Rs5.50 lakh of the defrauded amount and seized five mobile phones allegedly used in the crime.

Bank Accounts Linked To 255 Complaints

Further investigation revealed the wider scale of the alleged racket. Technical analysis of 11 bank accounts found on the mobile phone of one accused linked those accounts to 182 cybercrime complaints registered across 21 states.

Information about another 49 bank accounts was recovered from a second accused. These accounts were linked to an additional 73 cybercrime complaints registered across the country. Together, the 255 complaints involved suspected cyber fraud amounting to approximately Rs72 crore, Deputy Commissioner of Police Abhay Singh Deshmukh said.

Telegram Links And Cryptocurrency Transfers

According to the police, the accused allegedly exchanged bank account details and SIM cards through Telegram groups to facilitate cyber fraud. They reportedly persuaded bank account holders to install APK files on their mobile phones and then used the associated bank accounts to receive money obtained through fraudulent transactions.

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The money was allegedly routed through multiple bank accounts before being withdrawn in cash or converted into USDT cryptocurrency for onward transfer abroad. Police suspect that the operation had links to a network being run from China. Further investigation is under way to establish the complete network and the role of other persons involved.

Police Issue Cyber Fraud Advisory

The Mulund police have urged citizens not to hand over their bank accounts, ATM cards, cheque books or SIM cards to others in exchange for commission. Citizens have also been warned against installing APK files received from unknown persons.

Anyone who falls victim to cyber fraud should immediately contact the national cybercrime helpline at 1930, police said.

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