CBI files chargesheet against three accused in cyber-enabled call center fraud case

New Delhi [India], December 20 (ANI): The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Friday filed a chargesheet against three accused in a case of transnational cyber-enabled Call Center fraud involving cryptocurrencies and bitcoins worth Rs 260 crores, the agency said in a release.

The chargesheet has been filed against the individuals involved in committing international call centre fraud targeting foreign nationals of the USA, Canada etc.

After a thorough investigation, a chargesheet has been filed against the accused namely Tushar Kharbanda, Gaurav Malik, and Ankit Jain, under sections of IPC, Information Technology Act, and other relevant offences, the release stated.

The CBI had registered FIR under various sections of the IPC, along with IT Act, 2000, following information provided by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) through the National Central Bureau, India.

The FIR alleged that Tushar Kharbanda impersonating an RCMP officer convinced the victim that his identity was being used for fraudulent purposes. Under duress, the victim was coerced into transferring over 93,000 Canadian Dollars into cryptocurrency via Bitcoin ATMs in Canada, all of which were linked to Kharbanda and his associate's cryptocurrency wallets.

As per the release, the CBI investigation revealed that the accused Tushar Kharbanda, a resident of Noida, was involved in defrauding US and Canadian nationals through a fraudulent call centre operating in Delhi and Noida.

The call center was managed by Kharbanda in collaboration with co-accused Gaurav Malik and it has employed over 150 tele-callers. These individuals targeted elderly citizens in the U.S. and Canada, deceiving them by posing as representatives from foreign law enforcement agencies, Amazon support, Microsoft tech support, and other services.

During the investigation, CBI conducted searches at the premises of the accused persons and the digital devices seized from the residential and official premises of the accused revealed evidence viz scripts for several fraud schemes, including the impersonation of U.S. Social Security Administration officers and fraudulent interactions with fraud prevention departments. The devices also contained credentials of U.S. victims, providing further evidence on the modus operandi and extent of operation by the accused, according to the release.

As the investigation progressed, links to other key figures in the fraud network were revealed, including Ankit Jain who played a role in managing crypto wallets and assisting the primary accused, Tushar Kharbanda, in converting the BTCs obtained from foreign victims into USDT.

Further investigation revealed that Kharbanda and his associates had received over 316 bitcoins equivalent to INR 260 Crores in their Bitcoin wallets which are proceeds of crime. The same was then withdrawn by the members of the organized gang in Dubai. (ANI)