New Delhi: A chartered accountant from southwest Delhi’s Bijwasan has emerged as the mastermind behind a transnational racket that systematically defrauded thousands of people and siphoned off proceeds using a Dubai-based fintech platform and a network of shell companies.Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has sought the custody of Ashok Kumar Sharma, the CA, who was recently arrested by Enforcement Directorate (ED). A probe revealed that he was behind the siphoning off of Rs 900 crore in just the past year.CBI’s crackdown on this syndicate involved coordinated searches at 15 locations spanning Delhi, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and Punjab. They were initiated following critical intelligence provided by Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre, an arm of Union home ministry, which flagged large-scale organised online investment and part-time job scams.During these searches, investigators recovered a mountain of incriminating documents and digital evidence, pointing toward a highly sophisticated infrastructure designed to siphon domestic wealth into international accounts.The probe has shed light on a meticulous modus operandi that exploited the digital vulnerabilities of modern retail investors. The syndicate utilised social media platforms, mobile applications and encrypted messaging services to lure their targets online with promises of high returns from investments and seemingly lucrative part-time job opportunities.In a classic ‘grooming’ tactic, the targets were initially induced to deposit small amounts of money and were presented with fictitious profits on digital dashboards to build a sense of trust and legitimacy. Once they were convinced of the scheme’s profitability, they were persuaded to invest larger sums.These defrauded funds were then rapidly funnelled through an intricate web of multiple mule bank accounts, a tactic specifically designed to break the money trail and confuse the domestic regulatory mechanism.The most complex aspect of the operation involved the offshore siphoning of these proceeds. The network utilised Dubai-based fintech platform Pyypl, alongside other overseas financial channels, to move the money out of India.The proceeds were siphoned off through offshore ATM withdrawals using debit cards enabled for international transactions and through wallet top-ups on overseas platforms using Visa and MasterCard payment networks. To the banking systems, these transactions appeared as standard point-of-sale or POS transactions, allowing the fraudsters to bypass traditional red flags associated with such large-scale transfers.Sharma, it was found out, used to manage a major branch of this network through which approximately Rs 900 crore was siphoned off in just the past year. These funds were consolidated into accounts linked to 15 different shell companies and routed through two primary entities. To further insulate the money from being recovered, the syndicate converted the proceeds into USDT, a stablecoin cryptocurrency, through India-based virtual asset exchanges before transferring the digital assets to white-listed wallets. CBI’s investigation also revealed a disturbing level of identity fraud; several individuals had been deceitfully appointed as directors of these shell companies, with fraudulently obtained documentation used for their official incorporation without their knowledge. While CBI had previously frozen several linked bank accounts and the funds therein in Sept 2025, the recent searches at the residential and official premises of the directors have provided the necessary evidence to take Sharma into custody for interrogation. With the agency seeking custodial remand and interrogation of the CA, the focus has now shifted to identifying other key players, including foreign nationals, and tracing the remaining proceeds of crime that continue to circulate through international financial systems.
