NEW DELHI, Dec. 12 -- In a major operation against international cyber-enabled financial crimes, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), acting upon critical intelligence shared by the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), busted a highly sophisticated cyber fraud syndicate that has been operational since 2022 and primarily targeting American nationals.
Investigation revealed that the accused impersonated officials of US-DEA, FBI and SSA.
With the false identities, they terrified victims that their respective SSNs were being used for drug trafficking and money laundering. Victims were then misled to believe their bank accounts as well as their assets were about to be frozen.
The attackers compelled them to "safeguard" their money by transferring it to cryptocurrency wallets and foreign bank accounts discreetly controlled by themselves. From 2022 to 2025, the scheme managed to dupe US citizens of a whopping amount of USD 8.5 million. The case was registered by the CBI on 9 December 2025. Immediately, massive searches were conducted in Delhi, Noida and Kolkata.
The searches resulted in the recovery of substantial incriminating evidence.
A raid at an illegal call centre operating out of Noida saw officers catch six individuals red-handed when they were actively engaged in fraudulent calls. The call centre was shut down on the spot, and the six key accused were arrested.
Further searches conducted on December 10 and 11 revealed that the crime syndicate had been routing its illicit proceeds through virtual assets and complex bank transfer chains.
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.