Delhi: 3 nabbed in Rs 39.5 lakh crypto investment scam

New Delhi, Aug 25 (PTI) The Delhi Police has arrested three men, including the alleged mastermind, for their involvement in a cryptocurrency investment fraud in which a city businessman was duped of Rs 39.5 lakh, the police said on Monday.

The arrested accused have been identified as Krishan Kumar alias Monu (42), a resident of Paharganj, Deepu (32) of Gopalpur, and Md Irfan Sheikh (31) of GTB Enclave, police said.

"The complainant, a 47-year-old stationery shop owner from Mahendru Enclave, was lured into investing in cryptocurrency through a fraudulent platform on the promise of high returns," a senior police officer said.

Believing the scheme to be genuine, he transferred Rs 39.5 lakh to various bank accounts, he said.

During the probe, investigators zeroed in on a primary mule account in a private bank in Karol Bagh, operated in the name of RS Management Services.

"The account had received Rs 10 lakh from the cheated amount on February 17 and was linked to at least nine other complaints registered on the National Cybercrime Reporting Portal," he added.

The account holder, Krishan Kumar, was found to be absconding, frequently changing his residence and mobile numbers to evade arrest.

"On August 20, Krishan Kumar was arrested following technical surveillance and field intelligence. Based on his disclosure, his associate Deepu, who had arranged the mule account, was apprehended a day later," the officer said.

Interrogation revealed that Deepu worked with associates, including Arvind and Irfan, to facilitate fraudulent transactions.

"Deepu managed mule corporate bank accounts by misleading account holders that the funds were related to gaming activities. Irfan monitored the account holders, while Arvind maintained links with cyber fraudsters who routed the cheated money through these accounts," the officer added.

Police said Arvind is already in judicial custody in connection with another cyber fraud case registered at Cyber West Police Station. With sustained efforts, Irfan was also arrested from Paharganj. He had a prior arrest in a similar case handled by the Crime Branch.

The accused used layered transactions to move funds quickly through multiple accounts, making detection difficult.

A case has been registered, and efforts are underway to trace the remaining co-accused and recover the cheated amount, police said. PTI SSJ SSJ MPL MPL