The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) busted a major cybercrime racket operated from Delhi-NCR and other states targeting citizens of foreign nations, officials said on Wednesday. The racket members used to target several countries, including the USA, through fake call centres.
The CBI team launched massive searches at 24 locations in which Rs 2.2 crore cash was seized, they said.
The searches were conducted across Delhi, Noida, Gurugram, and Gujarat resulting in the seizure of a trove of digital evidence, Rs 2.2 crore in cash, documents related to properties and cryptocurrency, officials added.
The group, allegedly run by one Sushil Sachdeva and associates, was targeting gullible foreigners through fraudulent schemes. They used to defraud foreign nationals by claiming to provide services such as tech support.
The action of the CBI was part of an ongoing investigation in which a number of cybercriminals have been booked.
"A case was registered on 07.07.2022 on the allegations that multiple call centres in India utilized the services of Gujarat-based VOIP company to orchestrate millions of fraudulent calls targeting citizens of the USA. It was alleged that the perpetrators behind these cyber-enabled crimes impersonated entities such as the US Federal Grant Department, IRS, SSA, CRA, and ATO through VOIP calls. It was further alleged that the modus operandi involved sending robo/audio calls impersonating officials from US Federal Departments or agencies, subsequently deceiving victims by coercing payments under the guise of fees, fines, or penalties," the statement read.
The initial phase of investigations under CBI's Operation Chakra in October 2022 led to searches, conducted earlier at 11 such call centres/entities. The FBI also informed the CBI that the accused in this case had already faced indictments in the USA for similar fraudulent activities against US citizens, the officials said.
Earlier, a chargesheet was filed by CBI against another accused. Further investigations unveiled the involvement of a private person, a private company and their associates in perpetrating large-scale fraud against foreign nationals facilitated by services of a Gujarat-based private company.
CBI diligently continues to identify and dismantle any transnational cyber fraud networks operated from India in collaboration with international counterparts, they added.
