23-year-old MBBS Student held for transferring Rs 8 lakh to Chinese gang via cryptocurrency

Indore: In a recent cyber fraud case, Indore Police have arrested a 23-year-old MBBS student for his his role in converting and transferring approximately Rs 8 lakh of defrauded money into cryptocurrency, which was then sent to an international gang. The arrest followed an investigation into a case where a city-based software engineer was cheated of Rs 1.35 lakh.

The accused, identified as a resident of Jodhpur and a third-year MBBS student at Government Medical College (GMC) Alibag, Maharashtra, was apprehended for his role in facilitating the conversion of stolen funds into cryptocurrency, which he then transferred to a Chinese crypto wallet.

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The arrest was made following a detailed investigation, led by Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) Rajesh Kumar Tripathi. During interrogation, it was revealed that the suspect had been supplying bank accounts to a gang in exchange for a commission, facilitating cyber fraud activities. He was also found to be linked to five Chinese nationals through a group on the Telegram messaging app.

As per the recent media report, Tripathi told TOI, "We came to know that Vishnoi used to convert the cyber fraud money deposited in Indian bank accounts into cryptocurrency and send it to the Chinese gang. We are investigating thoroughly the role of the Chinese gang in carrying out cyber crimes in India."

According to Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police Rajesh Dandotia, the accused, converted money obtained through cyber fraud into cryptocurrency via an account on the exchange platform Binance. He then transferred the converted funds to a Chinese crypto wallet, identified by the alias ‘TLX’, using a QR code. Dandotia further revealed that the accused had so far laundered approximately Rs 8 lakh by converting it into cryptocurrency and sending it to the ‘TLX’ wallet.

In addition, Dandotia also revealed that the accused communicated with the Chinese youth through a chatbot equipped with a translation feature, allowing conversations in both English and Chinese. As part of their investigation into the transfer of cyber fraud funds to the Chinese gang, the Indore police have sent official requests for information to Telegram and Binance.