Rajkot: Vast sums of money, allegedly the proceeds of cybercrime, were being sent to the Middle East as Bhavnagar police busted a cyberlaundering operation involving suspicious transactions worth Rs 21.37 crore, with verified fraud proceeds of Rs 8.11 crore from various parts of India.Police said they dismantled a sophisticated cybercrime syndicate and booked 10 alleged members under the Gujarat Control of Terrorism and Organised Crime (GujCTOC) Act. The accused were allegedly instrumental in opening 134 mule accounts, with the National Cybercrime Reporting Portal receiving 272 complaints linked to these bank accounts. The network was unearthed during “Operation Mule Hunt”. Police identified Dashrath Dhandhalya as the kingpin, booking him for the second time under the GujCTOC Act. He is believed to have fled India. Police arrested nine persons in the case. According to investigators, five of them scouted for vulnerable individuals whose bank accounts could be used in exchange for small payments. These individuals were made to hand over their bank account kits, including debit cards and chequebooks, to Dhandhalya, who allegedly forwarded the banking details to cybercriminals abroad. Two accused withdrew the proceeds of cyberfraud from ATMs and through cheques, while others routed the money onward via angadia services or by converting it into cryptocurrency. Exploiting the innocent:The syndicate was structured in a hierarchy, with organizers, account procurers and field recruiters. “The gang preyed on vulnerable citizens, luring them with the promise of paltry sums for opening new bank accounts,” said Nitish Pandey, superintendent of police, Bhavnagar. Assistant superintendent of police Ghanshyam Gautam said, “Once the accounts were opened, the gang members would take the complete banking kits, which included the passbooks, chequebooks, ATM cards and linked SIM cards. These accounts were used as mule accounts to receive money defrauded from the victims of cybercrime.” Layering and crypto offshoring:“To evade law enforcement, the gang used advanced money laundering tactics. The defrauded funds were rapidly transferred across a network of 134 mule accounts to create complex layers. According to police, the gang leaders employed ‘managers’ to coordinate cash withdrawals via ATMs and angadia (hawala) networks.” In a modern twist to traditional fraud, the extracted cash was converted into cryptocurrency (USDT), which was then offshored, funnelling the money to international cybercriminals. Extensive network:The investigation revealed that the syndicate had been operating for three years across Bhavnagar, Rajkot, Surat and Ahmedabad. The National Cybercrime Reporting Portal had 272 victim complaints linked to the syndicate’s activities. Apart from the kingpin, Dashrath Dhandhalya, police have arrested nine of his key associates — Aryan alias Lakhan Joseta, Shailesh alias Bhuro Chaudhari, Rahul Gohel, Shafin Qureshi, Mahin Qureshi, Mihir Sarvaiya, Aman Ofthani, Harshad Sarvaiya and Dipak Gohil — all of whom have long criminal histories, with several FIRs registered against them across multiple districts.
