25-yr-old man from Assam, linked to digital fraud worth 1,071 cr, arrested in Gujarat

A 25-year-old man from Assam who allegedly acted as a key financial handler for a cybercrime network linked to alleged Chinese operators and helped route money obtained through digital arrest and other cyber frauds across the country, was arrested, officials from the Gujarat Cyber Centre of Excellence said on Tuesday.

Superintendent of police (SP), Cyber Centre of Excellence, Vivek Bheda said that the accused, identified as Rafikul Alam of Sanchuka in Barpeta Road in Assam, was involved in 1,090 cyber crimes across India involving ₹1,071.55 crore.

According to Bheda, Alam routed money obtained through digital arrest and other cyber frauds through multiple bank accounts. To evade surveillance agencies, large sums were split into smaller amounts and transferred through 1,754 bank accounts in less than an hour before being converted into cryptocurrency for alleged Chinese criminal operators, he added.

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The investigation found that Alam was in direct contact with alleged Chinese handlers through WhatsApp and Telegram, according to officials. He allegedly exchanged scanners, user IDs, passwords, cryptocurrency wallet details and information about the modus operandi of cyber crimes with the handlers.

Police recovered details of 23 cryptocurrency wallets from Alam’s mobile phone, with transactions exceeding ₹16 crore, police said.

The investigation also helped the Cyber Centre of Excellence intervene in ten ongoing digital arrest frauds across Gujarat and other states, preventing victims from transferring money to fake accounts.

“In Ahmedabad, a senior citizen was placed under a fake digital arrest after fraudsters posed as officials of the Nashik Police and threatened to implicate him in a child pornography case. The fraudsters allegedly demanded ₹20 lakh from the victim,” said Bheda.

The police team detected that the victim was undergoing a live digital arrest and reached his house late at night. The team counselled the victim and stopped the payment before the money could be transferred to the fraudsters.

The Gujarat team travelled to Barpeta in Assam and conducted three days of surveillance before raiding Alam’s house and seizing technical devices, the Cyber Centre of Excellence said in a statement.

Police said Alam played a role in routing funds from cyber frauds across India and converting them into cryptocurrency for the foreign-based network.

Three first information reports (FIR) have been registered against Alam at the Cyber Crime Police Station under various provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and the Information Technology Act, including Section 66(D) of the IT Act, said officials.