Key Takeaways:
Binance supported law enforcement in dismantling a $200K scam involving cross-border “digital arrest” fraud in India and Nepal.
The scam leveraged cryptocurrency to launder victim funds across borders.
Blockchain transparency enabled authorities to trace transactions and arrest suspects.
Binance’s Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) played a central role in helping police track stolen USDT and identify mule accounts.
Binance Assists Ahmedabad Police in Busting Transnational Crypto Scam
Binance has partnered with local authorities in India to dismantle a cryptocurrency-linked scam valued at over $200,000 USD, highlighting the growing threat of “digital arrest” frauds in South and Southeast Asia.
The case involved multiple victims, including a 90-year-old man in Gujarat, who lost ₹1.25 crore (approx. $149,700) to fraudsters posing as law enforcement. In a parallel case, a young jobseeker was trafficked to Nepal, locked in a hotel room, and forced to participate in laundering another ₹49 lakh (approx. $58,680) in crypto.
These incidents form part of a wider network of transnational cybercrime, where perpetrators exploit digital assets to obscure stolen funds. However, due to the traceable nature of blockchain, law enforcement, aided by Binance’s FIU team, was able to identify suspicious wallet addresses, follow fund flows, and facilitate timely arrests.
What Is a “Digital Arrest” Scam?
This scam type involves fraudsters impersonating police or regulatory officials, pressuring victims to transfer funds under false legal pretexts. In one case, a suspect in Ahmedabad helped scammers by “renting out” his bank account to funnel extorted money — a tactic often used to make tracing funds more difficult.
However, crypto is not anonymous. With proper tools, every transaction can be traced back through public ledgers — a fact that authorities leveraged in both the Gujarat and Kathmandu cases.
How Binance Helped Track the Funds
Binance’s Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) provided detailed analysis of the blockchain transactions, identified mule wallets, and collaborated with local cybercrime units to intercept fund flows in real time.
“With timely support from Binance’s FIU team, we traced the crypto trail, identified suspects, and acted quickly,” said a senior officer from the Ahmedabad Cyber Crime Branch.
Binance responded to over 65,000 law enforcement requests in 2024 and continues to work globally to combat scams that misuse crypto.
Global Cybercrime Requires Global Solutions
The successful resolution of these cases underscores the need for cross-border collaboration. Binance’s role illustrates how crypto platforms can become powerful allies in detecting and dismantling digital crime networks — not just in India or Nepal, but globally.
As the digital asset space matures, scams will persist — but so will the tools to fight them. With transparency built into the blockchain, crypto can become safer than traditional finance when platforms, regulators, and investigators work together.