Man held for duping Delhi resident in crypto scam; international syndicate suspected: Police

New Delhi, Sep 29 (PTI) A 42-year-old man has been apprehended from Punjab's Ludhiana for allegedly duping a Delhi resident of over Rs 31 lakh by luring him to invest in a fake cryptocurrency trading platform, an official said on Monday.

The accused was identified as Nitin Sharma, the official said.

Sharma duped a man of Rs 31.75 lakh after luring him through social media to invest in the fraudulent app 'BitBank', police said.

Analysis of the recovered devices revealed that multiple mobile numbers were used in the fraud and were active in Cambodia, suggesting an international dimension to the cybercrime.

"Sharma posed as a BitBank executive and induced the victim to transfer large sums to multiple bank accounts under the pretext of high returns from fake shares and IPO allotments," a senior police officer said.

A case was registered, and acting on technical and field inputs, the police tracked Sharma withdrawing Rs 10 lakh in cash, as captured on CCTV, and apprehended him.

Several high-tech mobile phones used in the scam were seized, containing incriminating social media chats, transaction records, and digital evidence directly linking him to the syndicate.

Sharma, a graduate and local businessman from Anaj Mandi, Ludhiana, is currently under police custody, and further investigation is underway to trace the syndicate's network. PTI SSJ HIG