Mumbai: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has busted a large-scale cyber fraud and financial crime syndicate operating out of Pune and Mumbai, targeting foreign nationals particularly U.S. citizens through impersonation, phishing calls, and financial deception. Three persons have been arrested for their alleged involvement in the said case, agency officials said on Friday.
3 accused in CBI custody till July 30
Those arrested have been identified as Amit Dube, Tarun Shenai and Gonsalves Savio. They were produced before Special Judge for CBI Cases, Mumbai and have been remanded to CBI custody till 30.07.2025.
CBI registered the case on Thursday against unknown public servants of banks and four private persons for running an illegal call centre operating since January 2025 in furtherance of a well-organized criminal conspiracy.
Illegal call centre in Pune impersonated U.S. and Indian agencies
"The group, in connivance with other unknown persons, has been impersonating officials from agencies such as the U.S. Internal Revenue Service (IRS), U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), and even the Indian High Commission, to defraud unsuspecting U.S. citizens. Under the threat of legal action. The victims were coerced into paying amounts ranging from USD 500 to 3,000 through gift cards or bitcoin transfers. Spoofed VoIP-based calls were being made from a covertly operated illegal call centre situated at Pune," said a CBI official.
₹3–4 crore per month laundered via crypto, mule accounts, hawala
"It has been revealed that the illegally earned proceeds estimated to be Rs 3–4 crores monthly are being laundered via mule accounts, cryptocurrency, and hawala routes. It was also revealed that these operations are supported by certain unknown public and private sector bank officials, who facilitate the opening and operation of fake accounts using forged KYC documents, violating established RBI and institutional guidelines," the official said.
The call centre workers are paid in cash routed via hawala channels from both the U.S. and domestic locations, including Maharashtra and Gujarat. These workers are housed in multiple residential flats across Pune.
The scam’s operation includes the illegal acquisition of contact leads through vendors on messaging platforms such as WhatsApp and Signal. Victims are contacted via toll-free numbers generated and disseminated by these vendors, eventually connecting them to the fraudulent call centre, officials said.
After registration of case, searches at 07 places of accused or the persons associated with them including the illegal call centre run by the accused persons at Pune were conducted by CBI on Thursday and Friday. Various incriminating articles of cyber fraud/digital devices including 27 mobile phones and 17 laptops have been seized from the possession of the accused persons and their associates at illegal call centre at Pune.
CBI seizes laptops, mobile phones, narcotics, crypto wallet
Scrutiny of these mobile phones and laptops reveals that these accused persons were using caller services found on social media platforms like Signal and WhatsApp. Also, unexplained cash of Rs 1.60 lakh and around 150 gram narcotic substance have been seized from the residence of one of the accused.
Scrutiny of mobile phone of the accused has revealed that he has crypto currency worth Rs 6.94 lakh in his wallet. During the search at the residence of another accused unexplained cash of Rs 9.60 lakh was recovered.
