In a major crackdown on illegal crypto activities, Indian authorities have busted a scam operation that scammed a foreign resident out of $400,000. The operation, led by Prafful Gupta and his associates, targeted a foreign woman, claiming her bank account was insecure and convincing her to transfer funds to a cryptocurrency account.
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) filed a First Information Report (FIR) against Prafful and his accomplices, leading to a search and arrest operation on June 6 in multiple Indian cities, including New Delhi, Haryana, and Kanpur.
The scam involved unauthorized remote access to the victim’s device, creating a cryptocurrency account using her personal identification. The $400,000 was transferred to the account, converted to crypto, and transacted to various accomplices. The Indian Enforcement Directorate (ED) summarized the operation, stating that the scammer gained unauthorized remote access to the victim’s computer and created a cryptocurrency account in her name using her mobile number and email ID.
Prafful and his team layered the crypto through numerous accounts and finally sold them for cash via entities created using falsified KYC (Know Your Customer) details. An Indian fintech firm also helped them launder a portion of these funds through similar means.
Upon arresting Prafful, investigators found assets that exceeded the value of the crime. They seized fixed deposit (FD) accounts holding funds amounting to about $880,000. Prafful had even stacked up jewelry worth $42,000, also seized. Alongside the assets, the authorities found digital evidence connecting him to this crime and possibly others, which can shed light on the unexplained amounts of assets he and his accomplices held.
Those accused alongside Prafful include Sarita Gupta – Praful’s mother, Kunal Almadi, Rishabh Dixit, Gaurav Pahwa, and various unnamed individuals.

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Source: Live Bitcoin News.