The investigation has uncovered an alleged network of mule bank accounts, cash withdrawals and suspected links to a foreign money-exchange application and a hawala channel used to convert and transfer the proceeds into USDT, a cryptocurrency. New Delhi: The Intelligence Fusion and Strategic Operations (IFSO) unit of the Delhi Police Special Cell has arrested seven people in connection with an alleged cyber fraud involving unauthorised transactions worth Rs 3.93 crore from a bank account.
The investigation also revealed alleged links between Brij Lal, a foreign money-exchange application called U Home and a hawala channel. Investigators probed the transactions and traced the alleged movement of funds across multiple bank accounts. The police team conducted a seven-day operation in Bikaner, Jodhpur and other locations in Rajasthan to identify the account holders and alleged facilitators involved in the network. Some of the accused allegedly withdrew cash from these accounts and handed it over to other members of the network. He allegedly used cash withdrawn from mule accounts to purchase USDT through a hawala operator. The alleged transaction is being investigated further. All six are residents of Rajasthan. The police have also identified several mule bank accounts allegedly facilitated by Vikram and Hemant Singh for Brij Lal. Accounts held by Sunil and Rakesh Bahadu are also being examined to establish their alleged roles in routing or withdrawing the suspected proceeds of crime. The recovered material is being examined for evidence of links between the accused, bank accounts and other suspected cyber frauds. Further investigation is underway to establish the alleged network’s links to USDT transactions, the U Home application and the hawala channel, and to determine whether the recovered documents and digital devices are connected to other cases.
The case was registered on October 5, following a complaint by a 28-year-old man, Prince Bansal, who is involved in NBFC and loan-related transactions and holds an account with ICICI Bank. 149 unauthorised transactions took place in his account on October 5 at around 11 am, resulting in the debit of Rs 3,93,59,000, according to the police. The National Cybercrime Reporting Portal (NCRP) marked a lien or hold on Rs 1.78 crore. A key breakthrough came with the arrest of Brij Lal, 29, a resident of Phalodi in Rajasthan, who was also wanted in another cyber fraud case involving Rs 95 lakh registered with the IFSO unit. During interrogation, he allegedly disclosed that he held a wallet ID on the application and was connected to a foreign cyber network through a mobile number with the +852 country code. The other accused have been identified as Piyush Talaniya, 19; Vipin Chanwariya, 19; Sunil, 23; Vikram, 23; Rakesh Bahadu, 26; and Hemant Singh, 23. Rs 9.50 lakh was allegedly withdrawn from a mule bank account held by Piyush Talaniya and handed over to Brij Lal, according to the police. Vipin Chanwariya allegedly withdrew Rs 7 lakh on October 12 on Brij Lal’s instructions and handed the cash to him. Brij Lal was also wanted in another FIR registered at the IFSO unit in connection with an alleged Rs 95 lakh fraud case. Investigators said proceedings under Section 84 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) were pending before the court in that case. During the operation, the police recovered 45 cheque books, 25 bank passbooks, 45 ATM cards and 13 mobile phones.
The accused allegedly routed the proceeds of the fraud through multiple mule bank accounts to complicate the money trail, according to the police. The police said Brij Lal also allegedly disclosed that cash was handed over to a person in Khanna, Punjab, on the instructions of a hawala operator.
