Following the discovery of a global cybercrime operation that targeted victims in the US and Canada, India’s Central Bureau of Investigation has detained a man from Delhi and confiscated more than $327,000 (₹2.8 crore) worth of cryptocurrency.
During coordinated operations at three sites in India on Tuesday, Rahul Arora was taken into custody in New Delhi. Investigators found advanced tools that were used to pose as government officials and tech support professionals in order to scam people abroad.
“Acting on actionable intelligence developed during the investigation, CBI conducted these searches and uncovered incriminating evidence busting the operation of a group engaged in transnational cyber fraud,” the CBI said in a press release issued Wednesday.
In light of the expanding issues of cross-border digital crime, the bust highlights how cybercrime syndicates located in India take advantage of jurisdictional loopholes to target foreign persons, leading to heightened international law enforcement collaboration.
Along with the crypto haul, the FBI has also seized voice recordings, caller ID spoofing software, international calling equipment, and lead creation tools that use social engineering techniques. Additionally, $26,400 (₹22 lakh) in undeclared cash was collected by the agency.
A multi-agency program called Chakra-V aims to stop cybercrime. The Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C), state cyber units, and outside partners like the FBI and Interpol are all involved.
Digital forensics, virtual digital asset seizures, and tracking dark web activity are the initiative’s main areas of concentration.
“The agency has also put in place necessary systems for the management of such assets [crypto] as per legal provisions,” officials said.
While investigations are ongoing, Arora has been brought before a Special CBI Court.
“I hope this isn’t understood to be another ‘cryptocurrency’ scam by the general public and the government,” Subha Chugh, a Web3 lawyer, told Decrypt. “Just because the alleged criminal parked funds in cryptocurrency doesn’t mean the scam involved cryptocurrency or was possible through cryptocurrency. If the perpetrator had purchased land, would we be calling it a real estate scam?”
The CBI’s growing global cybercrime skills, developed via high-profile cases like the ongoing $800 million (₹6,600 crore) GainBitcoin Ponzi scam probe, are demonstrated by Arora’s arrest.
In the GainBitcoin case, the CBI raided 60 sites in February and seized $2.9 million (₹23.94 crore) worth of cryptocurrency.
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