The CBI has conducted searches at 76 locations across the country under Operation Chakra 2 after registering five separate cases of cyber-enabled financial fraud, officials said on Thursday.
According to them, one of the cases involves a scheme that siphoned off ₹100 crore from Indian citizens using a cryptocurrency swindle.
The case was registered on the basis of inputs provided by the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU), the officials said.
Amazon and Microsoft filed a complaint alleging that the accused operated contact centres and pretended to be technical help in order to target foreign citizens. As a result, two charges were filed. The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) searched nine call centres as part of the operation, the officials said.
The details of two other cases were not shared by the agency because of the ongoing operation.
The CBI has acted on inputs from the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU), FBI, Interpol, and other international agencies, they said.
The searches were conducted at locations in Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka, Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Punjab, Delhi and West Bengal, the officials said.
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has started Operation Chakra 2 with the goal of combating and destroying the infrastructure of organized financial crimes in India that are supported by international organized cybercrime networks. This operation was conducted in collaboration with national and international agencies, alongside private sector giants.
International law enforcement agencies are being informed of details of identified victims, Shell companies, identified money mules, identified proceeds of crime, and details of co-accused/support elements for comprehensive action to dismantle these criminal networks based on evidence gathered during Operation Chakra 2.
The CBI is working closely in the spirit of international police cooperation with its international counterparts, including the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) of the USA, the Cyber Crime Directorate and International Financial Crime and Anti-Corruption Centre (IFCACC) of INTERPOL, the National Crime Agency (NCA) in the United Kingdom, Singapore Police Force and BKA of Germany to notify further leads.
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