ROURKELA: Rourkela police on Tuesday arrested a 43-year-old man on charges of duping people of over `3.49 crore on the pretext of providing them good returns in cryptocurrency.
The accused is Manoranjan Mishra (43), a native of Kendrapara district currently residing at Chhend Colony.
Police said between June 14, 2024 and March 20, 2025, around Rs 3.49 crore was reportedly credited from suspected sources into his account in the Bank of India. The investigation was initiated following a letter from the Crime Branch, along with a corresponding NCRP complainant acknowledgement containing suspected bank account numbers linked to illegal financial transactions and cyber frauds.
After verification with the bank branch, police conducted a raid at Mishra’s residence. During questioning, he reportedly confessed to opening the current account in the name of ‘Lingaraj Construction’ and operating it to receive illegally generated funds. Further investigation revealed that the account was used for receiving, layering, and dissipating proceeds of cyber frauds. Verification on the NCRP portal showed that 96 complaints from different states across the country were linked to Mishra’s account, police said.
Mishra allegedly lured victims into investing in cryptocurrency schemes by promising high returns. Victims were encouraged to invest through links provided by him, after which the fraudulently obtained money was transferred to his account. Police seized one mobile phone with two SIM cards, his Aadhaar card, online transaction details, one debit card and a credit card from his possession. Further investigation is on.