After discovering a fraudulent website with a URL similar to the official website of the Supreme Court, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) formed 60 special teams and carried out raids at 80 locations across 16 states and union territories as part of a major crackdown on cybercrime infrastructure facilitating digital arrest scams, the agency said on Thursday.
The states and union territories affected by the raids include Punjab, Gujarat, Delhi, Maharashtra, Haryana, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Assam, West Bengal, Manipur, Karnataka and Odisha.
“The searches were conducted as part of an ongoing investigation aimed at dismantling a targeted operational network involved in over 200 cases of digital arrests and arrested two persons from Chennai and Kolkata for their alleged involvement in setting up shell companies and opening and operating bank accounts,” a CBI spokesperson said in a statement.
The spokesman said that these accounts “were used in almost all money laundering operations.” $2 crores from the suspected proceeds of crime.”
The agency also claimed to have recently discovered a fraudulent website with a URL that deceptively resembles the official website of the Hon’ble Supreme Court of India.
“The fraudsters allegedly used this fraudulently registered domain to cheat victims under the guise of digital arrest. Based on a complaint received from the Registry of the Supreme Court of India, the CBI registered an FIR and initiated investigation into the matter,” the agency said.
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The agency leveraged advanced forensic tools and technical expertise to identify critical elements of the criminal infrastructure operating within India and abroad.
The agency added, “Investigations revealed that the perpetrators uploaded forged and fabricated documents, including fake orders similar to those issued by courts and various law enforcement agencies, to lend credibility to their fraudulent activities.”
During search operations, the CBI arrested two persons B. Naresh from Chennai and Sanjeeb Saha from Kolkata are allegedly involved in the crimes.
The CBI has also recovered several documents incriminating digital devices, mobile phones and records related to banking transactions, which are subject to detailed forensic examination and analysis.
The RBI said it has also found evidence to suggest that, in addition to Indian citizens, citizens of several other countries may have been defrauded by the same network, adding that relevant law enforcement agencies in those jurisdictions are being alerted through appropriate channels.
