CBI Arrests Harnek Singh After 13-Year Abscondence in Singapore Scam Case:

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has secured the return to India of Harnek Singh, an accused who had been absconding since 2013 in a Singapore scam case. An Interpol Red Notice and Look-Out Circular (LOC) were issued against him. He was deported from the USA and arrested by CBI officials after his arrival at Indira Gandhi International Airport, New Delhi, on September 9, 2026. According to the sources, he will be produced before the Special Judicial Magistrate (CBI Cases), Panchkula, Haryana.

The CBI had registered a case in 2016 involving allegations of conspiracy, cheating, forgery and use of forged documents, along with offences under the Information Technology Act. The investigation found that in 2013, Indian nationals living or working in Singapore were targeted through spoofed calls by fraudsters based in India. The callers posed as Singapore Immigration officials and falsely claimed that the victims had provided incorrect information in their airport forms and could face prosecution and deportation.

The victims were then allegedly forced to pay fake settlement fees or fines through Western Union Money Transfer to receivers in India. The investigation found that the money was received through a money-transfer outlet operated by Harnek Singh in association with co-accused Aditya Bhardwaj and Deepak Jain.

Harnek Singh fled India in May 2013 and later entered the USA illegally, remaining absconding for more than a decade. Meanwhile, the trial against Bhardwaj and Jain was completed, and both were convicted by the Panchkula court on May 26, 2025.

The court issued a non-bailable warrant against him on April 22, 2024, after Singh failed to appear despite summons and a bailable warrant served through the U.S. Department of Justice. The CBI subsequently used Interpol channels and other international law-enforcement mechanisms to trace and secure his return to India.