CBI launches Chakra-II Operation to combat organised Cyber Financial Crimes

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) launched Operation Chakra-II to combat and dismantle infrastructure of organised cyber-enabled financial crimes in India, as part of its ongoing fight against transnational organised cyber crime networks.

This operation was conducted in collaboration with national and international agencies, alongside private sector giants.

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, as part of a nationwide crackdown.

Following Operation Chakra-II, 32 mobile phones, 48 laptops/ hard discs, images of two servers, 33 SIM cards and pen drives, and numerous bank accounts were confiscated. The CBI also seized a dump of 15 email accounts, shedding light on the accused’s intricate web of deception.

Two cases of International Tech Support Fraud Scam were discovered as part of Operation Chakra-II. In these cases, the accused impersonated a global IT major and a multinational corporation with an online trading platform powered by technology.

The accused, who ran several call centres across five states/UTs, preyed on foreign nationals while posing as Technical Support Representatives. The fraudulent activities associated with these centres were said to have continued for the past five years, with the perpetrators using various international payment gateways and channels to facilitate the movement of illegally 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 allegedly pretended to be customer service representatives for these reputable tech companies. It was also claimed that the scammers would contact victims through internet pop-up messages that falsely appeared to be security alerts from these MNCs (Complainants). The pop-up messages falsely claimed that the consumer’s computer was experiencing various technical problems. Fraudsters sell/extend various bogus subscriptions to the aforementioned MNC with a global online trading platform (Complainant).

A toll-free number would be provided for the victim to call, and the call would be routed to the accused’s e-call centres. These companies would then allegedly gain remote access to the victim’s computer and convince them of the presence of non-existent problems before charging them hundreds of dollars for unnecessary services while 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 unwavering pursuit of justice ensures that those responsible for this heinous crime face the full force of the law. It was also claimed that the con artists created a fictitious cryptocurrency token, luring investors with promises of large returns on investments in bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies mining. It was also claimed that the accused set up a website with the image of a well-known Indian American Crypto Technologist, duping investors into thinking their money would be used to buy mining machines. Profits from newly created cryptocurrencies would allegedly be distributed among investors.

Unsuspecting Indian citizens invested through various payment gateways and aggregators integrated into the app until August 2021. The investors were allegedly given returns to gain their trust at first, but all payments ceased in August 2021. The accused allegedly amassed approximately Rs. 168.75 crore (approx.) through the services of a payment aggregator, causing financial hardship for the investors. It was also claimed that the con artists created dedicated applications to further deceive their victims.

During investigation, 150 accounts were identified which included accounts of 46 shell companies, 42 proprietorship firms and 50 individual accounts, serving as conduits for collecting funds from the public, laundering the received funds, and transferring them to the ultimate beneficiaries.

The vast majority of these funds were allegedly routed through dormant shell companies as well as personal savings and current accounts. This case was filed against two private companies, their directors, and an unknown number of others.