Here’s how a Rs 2 lakh job scam revealed Rs 3,000 crore money laundering via cryptocurrencies

cnbctv18.com:

It began in BengalUttar Pradesh’s cybercrime department arrested a man from West Bengal connected with the cyber fraud case in Bareilly. The accused, identified as Manzurul Islam, was arrested for defrauding a woman from Bareilly of Rs.

2.1 lakh in October 2021.Triveni Singh, superintendent of police (SP), cybercrime, UP, said, “The accused asked the victim to click on a link and register herself for the job for Rs 100 only. The woman was then offered Rs 200 in return for investing Rs 100, and an e-wallet was created.

Over a period of some days, the woman continued to invest money and eventually discovered that she had been cheated of over Rs 2 lakh.”Also Read: Explained: Crypto launchpads and how they benefit investorsSingh said these fraudsters sent lakhs of bulk SMS/WhatsApp messages across India in a day, and several people fell prey to this fraud. This started during the first Covid-19 pandemic lockdown in the country when people were either looking for a work from home opportunity on the side or had lost their jobs and were looking for a new one.Money laundering via cryptoThe investigation revealed that this money was transferred to three different UPI IDs, and the amount added up to over Rs 3,000 crore.

Singh said the entire amount was then converted into cryptocurrency by creating wallets on Binance, Smart Cont, OK Coin, BitPie, etc. In addition, the money was also transferred utilising different trusts, firms, and NGOs.“So far, investigations have revealed that 256 wallets of different cryptocurrencies have been used to transfer Rs 1,413 crore, including six wallets in India, while other wallets were created in China, Malaysia and the Philippines.