CBI LAUNCHES OPERATION CHAKRA-II TO COMBAT AND DISMANTLE ORGANIZED CYBER ENABLED FINANCIAL CRIMES;
DURING NATIONWIDE CRACKDOWN, SEARCHES CONDUCTED AT AROUND 76 LOCATIONS; LARGE NUMBER OF DIGITAL GADGETS INCLUDING LAPTOPs, HARD DISC ETC RECOVERED
Continuing its fight against transnational organized Cyber Crime Networks, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) launched Operation Chakra-II, aiming to combat and dismantle infrastructure of organized cyber-enabled financial crimes in India. This operation was conducted in collaboration with national and international agencies, alongside private sector giants.
During a nationwide crackdown, the CBI conducted intensive searches in five separate cases at 76 locations across multiple states, including Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka, Haryana, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Punjab, Bihar, Delhi, West Bengal, and Himachal Pradesh.
In the wake of Operation Chakra-II, 32 mobile phones, 48 laptops/hard disks, images of two servers, 33 SIM cards, and pen drives were confiscated and numerous bank accounts were freezed. CBI also seized a dump of 15 email accounts, illuminating the intricate web of deceit spun by the accused.
Among the cases targeted under Operation Chakra-II, two instances of International Tech Support Fraud Scam came to light. In these cases, the accused impersonated a global IT major and a multinational corporation with an online technology-driven trading platform. The accused, operating several call centers across 5 States/UTs, systematically preyed on foreign nationals, masquerading as Technical Support Representatives. It was alleged that the fraudulent activities associated with these centers had persisted over the past five years, with the perpetrators employing various international payment gateways and channels to facilitate the movement of illicitly acquired funds. It was further alleged that the several scammer groups were involved in running these call centers within the several States including Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana & Delhi and were deceiving foreign nationals by impersonating technical support representatives of two well-known multi-national companies. These scammers had allegedly posed as customer support agents for these reputable tech firms. It was also alleged that these scammers would contact the victims via internet pop-up messages that falsely appeared to be security alerts from these MNCs (Complainants). The pop-up messages fraudulently claimed that the consumer’s computer was having various technical issues. Fraudsters sell/extend various fake subscriptions of said MNC having global online trading platform (Complainant). A toll-free number would be given, where the victim would contact, and call would land up in their e-call centres (of accused). These companies would then take remote access of the victim’s computer & convince the victim of presence of non-existing problems and then allegedly make them pay hundreds of Dollars for unnecessary services impersonating these MNCs (Complainants). Victims are mainly from US, UK, Germany, etc. These two separate cases were registered on complaints against 08 private companies and others on said allegations.
Furthermore, Operation Chakra-II, fueled by critical intelligence from Financial Intelligence Unit-India (FIU-India), cracked a sophisticated crypto-currency fraud operation. This audacious scheme, under the guise of a fake crypto mining operation, allegedly targeted unsuspecting Indian citizens, resulting in a staggering loss of over Rs. 100 crore to Indian victims. The CBI’s relentless pursuit of justice ensures that those responsible for this reprehensible act will face the full force of the law. It was further alleged that the fraudsters developed a fictitious cryptocurrency token, enticing investors with promises of substantial returns from investments in bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies mining. It was also alleged that the accused created a website using the image of a renowned Indian American Crypto Technologist, misleading investors into believing their funds would be used to purchase mining machines. The profits generated from minted cryptocurrencies would purportedly be distributed among the investors. The app operated until August 2021, during which unsuspecting Indian citizens invested through various payment gateways and aggregators integrated into the app. Initially, the investors were allegedly given returns to gain their trust, but all payments ceased after August 2021. The accused allegedly amassed approximately Rs. 168.75 crore (approx.) through the services of a payment aggregator, leaving the investors in financial distress. It was further alleged that the fraudsters even developed dedicated applications to further deceive their victims. During investigation, 150 accounts were identified which included accounts of 46 shell companies, 42 proprietorship firms & 50 individual accounts, serving as conduits for collecting funds from the public, laundering the received funds, and transferring them to the ultimate beneficiaries. A majority of these funds were allegedly channeled through dormant shell companies and personal savings and current accounts. This case was registered against two private companies, their Directors and unknown others.
Based on evidence gathered during Operation Chakra-II, law enforcement agencies internationally are being notified of details of identified victims, Shell companies, identified money mules, identified proceeds of crime, details of co-accused/ support elements for comprehensive action to dismantle these criminal networks. The CBI is working closely in the spirit of international police cooperation with its international counterparts, including Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) of USA, Cyber Crime Directorate and IFCACC of INTERPOL, the National Crime Agency (NCA) in the United Kingdom, Singapore Police Force and BKA of Germany to notify further leads.
Earlier, in 2022, CBI initiated Operation CHAKRA, an INTERPOL assisted Global Action to combat and dismantle Organized Cyber enabled Financial Crime Networks. Rapid international proliferation of organized cyber enabled financial crimes with victims, accused, suspects, conspirators located across international jurisdictions, requires a globally coordinated law enforcement response. These increasingly sophisticated crimes include crimes like impersonation scams, mail scams, phishing scams, romance scams, lottery scams etc. Large numbers of innocent victims end up losing huge amounts to such scamsters. These organized criminals have global footprints and deploy advanced techniques including data harvesting, customized messages, money mules, remote access software, call center model of operation etc.
Investigation is continuing.
