How Dubai bank staffer connected cyber crime operatives in Mumbai, Pune to international masterminds

The fraud and the archetypal leads

The recently established cyber transgression constabulary presumption of Pimpri Chinchwad constabulary was investigating a lawsuit successful which a businessman from Rahatani country was duped of Rs 99 lakh successful an online stock trading fraud.

The complainant, a elder citizen, was manipulated into downloading an exertion aft helium was added to a WhatsApp group. He was made to marque investments per time and promised upto 300 per cent nett and the applications displayed profits accordingly. As the complainant tried to marque withdrawals from his ‘profits’, much wealth was sought from him. After realising that helium was being cheated, helium approached the police.

The probe squad got a deed of 1 of the accounts utilized to person the money. When the constabulary questioned the relationship holder from Mumbai, helium revealed that his maternal uncle Mahadev Katke from Navi Mumbai had asked him to unfastened the relationship and it was Katke who was operating it.

From utilized car trader to Dubai slope staffer

Questioning of Katke, a utilized car dealer, revealed that helium was further passing connected the power of the mule slope accounts to 2 much men — 1 from Mumbai and different from Pune. It was astatine this constituent that the investigators realised that they were looking for an organised racket with planetary links and footprints successful Pune and Mumbai.

Between November 10 and 13, a squad from the cyber transgression constabulary presumption arrested a full of 8 people—Katke (44) from Kamothe and Masood Alam Siddique (48) from Jogeshwari successful Mumbai, some 2nd manus car dealers, Mohammd Afzal Salmani (49) from Goregaon West, who ran a salon and besides made failed attempts astatine producing Kannada films, Tausaif Sayyed (40) from Malad East, who is simply a spot broker, Sagar Bhosale (38) of Indapur successful Pune, whose begetter is simply a retired cop, Imran Sayyed (44) from Kalwa successful Thane, Pranav Dalvi (30) from Borivali East, a bundle nonrecreational who works for a blockchain steadfast and Danish Sathi (24) from Mumbra, who works for a slope successful Dubai for past mates of years and had travel connected unrecorded erstwhile helium was arrested.

The racket unravels

Probe revealed that Sathi came successful interaction with Chinese cyber criminals and was the last nexus with operatives successful India. He was successful interaction with each the others arrested and was receiving each the funds siphoned from victims into assorted slope accounts. He was the 1 who channeled the wealth to planetary cyber criminals via cryptocurrency.

Dalvi, connected the different hand, was successful interaction with immoderate much operatives from Hong Kong and besides performed akin tasks. All the different suspects chiefly recruited mule relationship holders from among their ain relatives and acquaintances and managed them. The relationship holders received commissions successful instrumentality of full power of relationship operation.

The probe was led by DCP Crime Sandeep Doiphone and ACP Vishal Hire and the probe squad comprised inspector Ravikiran Nale, adjunct inspector Praveen Swami and sub inspectors Sagar Poman, Vaibhav Patil and Prakash Katkade.

As per the latest figures disposable of cases registered with the cyber transgression constabulary presumption of Pune metropolis and Pimpri Chinchwad, astir 510 radical person mislaid a staggering Rs 170 crores successful online stock trading frauds arsenic of mid October.