NEW DELHI: India and the US federal investigative agencies have jointly busted a transnational cybercrime network in Noida, where scammers based in India allegedly defrauded US nationals of USD 8.5 million, the CBI said on Friday.
Acting on inputs from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the Central Bureau of Investigation arrested six accused from Uttar Pradesh’s Noida and dismantled a cybercrime syndicate that had been targeting US citizens since 2022. The accused have been identified as Shubham Singh, Daltanlian, George T. Zamlianlal, L. Seiminlen Haokip, Mangkholun, Robert Thangkhankhual and David.
“During the period 2022-2025, the accused individuals operating under pseudonymous identities of US Government officials from Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA), Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and Social Security Administration (SSA), conspired to target US victims by threatening them that their Social Security Numbers (SSN) had been used for money laundering and drug deliveries and that all of their assets would be freezed,” the agency said.
Claiming the victims’ funds were at risk, the network allegedly manipulated them into transferring USD 8.5 million to cryptocurrency wallets and foreign bank accounts controlled by the accused.
The CBI registered a case on December 9 and launched a coordinated investigation, conducting extensive searches at multiple locations in Delhi, Noida and Kolkata linked to the accused. Officials intercepted six individuals allegedly engaged in ongoing criminal activities at an illegal call centre operating in Noida and dismantled the facility.
During searches conducted on Wednesday and Thursday, investigators uncovered what they described as a cyber-enabled financial crime network routing proceeds through virtual assets and layered bank transfers. “Searches conducted at premises of the illegal call centre and the accused persons led to recovery of cash amount of Rs.1.88 crores, 34 electronic devices viz. mobile phones, laptops, pen drives, hard disks and incriminating documents pertaining to crime,” the agency said.
The CBI added that further operations are underway to trace the remaining proceeds of crime and identify additional links in the network.