NEW DELHI: Delhi Police has dismantled a major racket of cybercriminals who defrauded people to the tune of nearly Rs 20 crore by creating fake identity documents (Aadhaar and PAN cards) of non-existent individuals, established shell companies, opened current bank accounts, and rented out these accounts for fraudulent purposes.
The cops have managed to arrest one of the key accused, Rahul Kumar Srivastava alias Sanjay, from Noida. This syndicate had been providing access to multiple current bank accounts to unknown cyber fraudsters through WhatsApp and Telegram, receiving commissions based on the volume of transactions in the accounts.
DCP (outer-north) Nidhin Valsan said a complaint regarding a financial fraud of Rs 30.50 lakh was received at Cyber Police Station Outer North Delhi through National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal (NCRP).
The complainant came across an advertisement of guaranteed high returns on investment in the stock market with “Goldman company.” He was directed to join a WhatsApp group where people were posting fake screenshots of higher returns. The complainant deposited `30 lakh, including `20 lakh which he had arranged by taking a loan from a bank. After the loss, the complainant decided to commit suicide but on the suggestion of a friend, he lodged his grievance on the NCRP after which the police registered a case.
The cops collected information from the bank regarding a suspected firm, ‘Rudra Traders’, where approximately Rs 20 lakhs had been siphoned from the complainant. An analysis of the bank statements revealed that around Rs 2.5 crores were credited to the firm’s account and transferred to other accounts via RTGS. “Technical analysis of this bank account revealed that it had been accessed from servers outside India. We managed to zero in on one suspect, Rahul Kumar Srivastava,” the DCP said.
It was discovered that Srivastava had assumed the identity of a fictitious individual named Sanjay, son of Satti. He confessed to having created fake Aadhaar and PAN cards and successfully bypassed bank verification processes.
“Rahul admitted to obtaining a GST firm registration through his acquaintance, Mitanshu Kushwaha. He then opened current and savings accounts in multiple banks,” the officer said. The accused had rented out a bank account, into which approximately Rs 2.59 crores were deposited from multiple victims. The funds were subsequently transferred abroad via RTGS and laundered through hawala and crypto-currency transactions.
Further interrogation revealed that Rahul and his associates had been engaged in these fraudulent activities since 2023.