Gurugram police have arrested five additional suspects connected to a large-scale China-linked cyber fraud network, raising the total arrests to 40 as investigators trace the laundering of stolen funds through cryptocurrency and mule accounts.
Police in Gurugram have arrested five more men in a case involving an alleged Chinese-linked cyber fraud network that cheated a victim out of about Rs 13.80 crore in the name of investment, bringing the total number of arrests in the investigation to 40, according to officials. Officers said six mobile phones were recovered during the operation.
The case began on 4 November 2024, when the complainant went to the Cyber Crime East police station and alleged that he had been duped on the promise of investment returns. The matter was then handed to the Special Cyber Crime Unit in Sector 56, which tracked the suspects through technical evidence and banking records. Police identified the latest arrests as Neeraj, Suraj Saroj, Surjeet Kumar alias Manas, Prashant Sharma and Tej Pratap Singh Shekhawat.
Investigators said the men had linked up with the fraud network through Telegram and supplied bank accounts that were used to collect and move stolen money. Police said about Rs 5 lakh from the cheated amount was traced into a current account linked to Gupta Industries. During questioning, officers said one account had been sold repeatedly through a chain of intermediaries for sums ranging from Rs 50,000 to Rs 90,000, illustrating how so-called mule accounts are traded for use in laundering fraud proceeds.
ACP Cyber Gaurav Phogat said Surjeet Kumar alias Manas was in contact with people tied to the Chinese cyber-fraud network through Telegram. According to him, Surjeet and his associates helped provide bank accounts and assist in fraud activity while staying connected to the wider network. Police said Surjeet had also been added to Telegram groups by a person identified as Joy and received payments in cryptocurrency, including through Binance, as well as cash handed over at different locations. The Gurugram case fits a wider pattern seen in India, where investigators have repeatedly linked online fraud, betting apps and cyber scams to overseas handlers, cryptocurrency trails and mule-account networks, including cases flagged by the Enforcement Directorate and Delhi Police in recent years.
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