Indian police have arrested 10 individuals for aiding a Chinese gang in laundering proceeds from fraud. According to reports, the Cyber Crime team of the Uttar Pradesh police arrested 10 individuals from different locations, including Lucknow, Raebareli, and Gonda.
In their report, the police mentioned that the arrested individuals were laundering funds on behalf of a Chinese cyber fraud gang by converting the illegal proceeds into different digital assets. The Indian police initiated the arrests after concluding its investigations into digital fraud operations with international connections. This was mainly due to the rise of fraud operations and other illicit activities involving the digital industry. For instance, there has been a rise in the number of investment scams related to digital assets in the country in the last few months.
Indian police apprehend suspects for laundering criminal proceeds
The officials stated that the suspects were part of a big network of criminals that aided the operations of the Chinese gang in the country. While there are indications that the network is spread globally, the Indian police were only focused on smashing their network in the country. Reports claim that the Chinese gang carried out different sorts of online scams, routing the illegal funds through multiple bank accounts.
The authorities mentioned that these arrested individuals worked for the gang, using their local bank accounts to receive the funds. After receiving the funds, the suspects then uses it to purchase digital assets and transfer them back to the criminal gang after deducting their commission. According to investigations, over the last two months, the arrested suspects had made payments of nearly Rs. 75 to 80 lakh (approximately $86k to $92k).
Among the ten suspects taken into custody by the Indian police, two have agreed to help the authorities by becoming government witnesses. The remaining individuals have been booked and sent to judicial custody pending trial. The authorities said that all of them were involved in helping the Chinese gang coordinate things on the ground. They carried out activities like acquiring bank accounts, managing digital transactions, and making profits via commission on each transfer.
This case highlights a growing trend in the country, with authorities initiating an arrest of two men, including an industrialist from Hyderabad last week. According to authorities, the men were receiving funds said to be proceeds of scams in their bank accounts. Investigations discovered that the funds were sent to a casino in Sri Lanka which is currently under investigation for cyber fraud. The police approached the victim after a tip-off from their counterpart. The victim had already made payments to the Indian accounts provided by the criminals.
Authorities have warned residents in the country to be watchful of criminal elements like these. The authorities stated that those trying to steal people’s hard-earned money often come with great investment opportunities that are always too good to be true. They offer very high amounts of returns on investment, pushing victims to take advantage of it in a short while. While the first few investment opportunities are always impressive, they use them to deceive their victims into making more investments, which are then stolen and laundered.
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