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4h ago

Cyberabad Arrests Two in ₹850-Crore ‘AI’ Investment Racket as India Steps Up Cybercrime Crackdown

Multi-city crackdowns target Ponzi-style platforms alongside digital extortion, with investigators tracing flows into USDT and overseas channels.

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Police have registered a case against unknown individuals under Sections 316(2), 318(4), and 61(2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and a probe is on. (HT File)
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Overview

  • Cyberabad EOW detained Gaddam Venugopal and Shreyas Paul, alleging they ran fake trading fronts that drew ₹850.59 crore from 3,164 investors since 2022, and seized luxury cars, devices, property papers and a victim database.
  • Police say the network promised 7% monthly returns, used bogus SEBI/NSE/BSE credentials and funneled deposits through 21 mule accounts before converting proceeds into real estate, gold, vehicles and Dubai-linked routes.
  • Pimpri Chinchwad cyber police arrested a BBA student, a passport agent and a garage owner who withdrew victim funds and bought Tether (USDT) for international handlers after a Pune man lost ₹57.7 lakh via a fake trading app.
  • Units tackling impersonation-based ‘digital arrest’ schemes reported fresh action, including two arrests in Chandigarh with ₹20.16 lakh secured, Mumbai’s first arrest in a ₹7.8 crore case targeting an 81-year-old and new complaints in Navi Mumbai and Khandwa.
  • Parallel drives in Punjab led to 22 arrests and ₹14.34 lakh recovered in Ludhiana cases, while Chandigarh police nabbed a Mumbai man over a ₹1.3 crore WhatsApp employer scam and Hyderabad issued alerts over rental cons using forged NSG IDs.