Mumbai, Sep 14
In a major operation, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in collaboration with the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), has busted a sophisticated virtual asset and bullion-supported cybercrime network with raids in Mumbai and Kolkata.
The cybercrime syndicate has been targeting victims in different countries since 2022, and the CBI-FBI operation has led to the arrest of one from Mumbai, identified as Vishnu Rathi.
Following a complaint, the CBI’s CBI’s International Operations Division lodged a case on September 9 (2024) against the key accused Rathi and others, and initiated a thorough probe into the scam.
According to the CBI, the accused Rathi had allegedly conspired to target a U.S. woman citizen by gaining unauthorised remote access to her computer and bank accounts.
They attempted to lure the U.S. citizen under the pretext of offering tech support services and then falsely informed her that her bank account had been ‘compromised’.
Claiming her bank account funds were at risk due to the hacking, they allegedly manipulated her to transfer USD 453,953 (nearly Rs 3.81 crore) to cryptocurrency wallets controlled by them, before disappearing.
After the case was registered, the CBI raided multiple locations believed to be linked with Rathi and seized substantial incriminating evidence.