Navi Mumbai cyber police bust online fraud racket

Accused Anshuman Arman Singh in the custody of the Navi Mumbai cyber police

The cyber police of Navi Mumbai have identified two individuals whose bank accounts were repeatedly used for cyber fraud. During their investigation, the police scrutinised the bank accounts and uncovered transactions totalling approximately R4 crore, received from various locations across the country.

The accused, identified as Mohnish Devendra Rajpal, 36, from Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, previously ran a lodge to earn a living. However, after being disabled in an accident a year ago, he resorted to allowing his bank account to be used for cyber fraud, receiving a commission of over one per cent for each transaction. Rajpal would then travel to places like Dhanbad, Jharkhand and Prayagraj to exchange the money in cash, deducting his commission.

Anshuman Arman Singh, 23, who operated a bakery in Lucknow, was one such recipient of the money. "Rajpal said that Singh used to come to his lodge and they got introduced to each other. A few years ago, Singh offered him the job, where by just using his account he can earn a good amount sitting at home and he started the business," said a police officer from the Navi Mumbai police.

Anshuman has been arrested by the Navi Mumbai cyber police, while Rajpal has been served notice under Section 41 (a) of the Criminal Procedure Code 1973 and released. "Both of them went to Dhanbad and received Rs 2 lakh each as their commission on the R2 crore each the amount which was received in their accounts. We are further investigating to get further links in the case including the callers to the mastermind," said Gajanan Kadam, senior police inspector, Navi Mumbai cyber police.

The fraud

The police discovered that the accused were involved in a total of 115 cyber complaints across Maharashtra and various other states in India. Additionally, the accused, along with their accomplice, had opened an account in a different bank which was used for fraudulent activities, leading to an ongoing investigation by the cyber police. Regarding the fraud, victims were deceived through Facebook and other social media platforms, enticing them to invest in forex and crypto trading. In December 2023, the accused contacted a complainant in Navi Mumbai through Facebook, persuading them to invest R60 lakh in forex and crypto trading. A case was registered under various sections of the Indian Penal Code and the Information Technology (Amendment) Act.

Modus operandi

Senior police inspector Kadam said, "The modus of the accused is to ask the victims to download an application that lets the victims do forex and crypto trading. By the time they realise that the money seen in the ‘wallet' cannot be withdrawn or used, they would have lost a lot of money." Furthermore, the accused targeted vulnerable individuals, befriending them and enticing them to open current accounts in various banks, receiving commissions based on the percentage of transactions done on those accounts. Investigation revealed that the bank accounts obtained were used for cyber fraud. Charges have been filed against the arrested accused in different police stations across states like Uttar Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Mumbai, Jaipur, Rajasthan, Jharkhand and Pune. The cyber police station has successfully frozen a total amount of Rs 39,35,521.

Rs 4 cr
Approx value of transactions