Mega fraud ring involving Chinese handlers unearthed: 15,000 Indians targeted in Rs 700 crore scam

The Hyderabad Police has exposed a massive fraud ring orchestrated by Chinese handlers, where over 15,000 Indians fell victim to the scam, resulting in losses of over Rs 700 crore in less than a year. Shockingly, some of the money was routed to China via Dubai and some funneled to an account operated by the Lebanon-based terror group Hezbollah.

"We are alerting Central agencies regarding this and the cyber crime unit of the Union home ministry has been given the details. It is quite shocking and surprising that even highly paid software professionals have lost as much as Rs 82 lakh," Hyderabad Police Commissioner CV Anand told NDTV. 

According to CV Anand, the police believe that some of the funds were converted to cryptocurrencies and placed into a Hezbollah-controlled wallet. Nine persons have been detained, including at least six more, including four from Hyderabad, three from Mumbai, and two from Ahmedabad.  

The investigation into the case began in April when a person reported being conned of Rs 28 lakh. The cybercrime branch of Hyderabad Police discovered that victims were lured into the scheme under the guise of investment-cum-part-time jobs. They were asked to perform simple tasks, such as liking YouTube videos or writing Google reviews, and were promised high returns, sometimes even doubling their initial investments after completing the first task.

The victims were approached on Whatsapp and Telegram and have lost an average of 5–6 lakh. After finishing the first task, they made tiny investments of up to Rs 5,000 and received large returns, including in some cases twice the money. Then, in a series of 7-8 transactions, the investors were prompted to contribute larger sums. However, as the scheme progressed, they were encouraged to invest larger amounts, and they found themselves unable to withdraw any money, having lost significant sums in the process.

Initially believed to be a Rs 584 crore fraud, further investigation revealed that an additional Rs 128 crore had been swindled by the scammers. They used a network of 113 Indian bank accounts, set up in the name of shell companies, to facilitate the movement of funds, converting them into cryptocurrency and eventually routing the money to China via Dubai.

"The accounts, which were opened in India using Indian SIM cards, were subsequently remotely operated in Dubai. The fraudsters were in touch with Chinese operators, who are the masterminds of the scam," said a police officer.

One such account belonged to the Hyderabad-based Radhika Marketing Company and was associated with a phone number that had the name of another local, Munawar. Arul Das, Shah Sumair, and Sameer Khan, Munawar's three assistants, accompanied him to Lucknow where they created 65 accounts for 33 fictitious companies. They received Rs 2 lakh for each account and were taken into custody after Munawar was located by the police. 

They admitted to the authorities during questioning that the accounts were formed at the request of three other fraud participants, whom they have simply named Manish, Vikas, and Rajesh. These three men are wanted by the police. 

The three Chinese masterminds Kevin Jun, Lee Lou Langzhou, and Shasha then moved over Rs 128 crore using the 65 accounts. 

Transaction information showed that an organisation with a base in Dubai was utilising remote-access apps to manage some of the accounts. The individuals in the Dubai gang were transferring money into cryptocurrency wallets and had connections to the Chinese network.

Prakash Mulchandbhai Prajapati and Kumar Prajapati, both of Ahmedabad, owned some of the wallets used for this, and both have now been detained. According to a police official, Prakash used to communicate with the Chinese handlers and gave them information about his bank accounts and other things. 

The officer claimed they have information on at least six people stationed in Dubai who were involved in the scheme and that three people have also been detained from Mumbai.