4 Arrested As Madhya Pradesh Police Bust Crypto Racket With Pakistan Link

The Madhya Pradesh police's cyber crime cell has arrested four persons in connection with an international racket involved in sending money to Pakistan through crypto currency using shell companies, a senior official said on Tuesday.

Investigations so far have revealed that the accused had carried out transactions worth Rs 50 crore, additional director general of police (ADGP) Yogesh Choudhary said.

The matter came to light during a probe into an online fraud worth Rs 1 crore involving a Bhopal-based businessman, he said.

"The accused used to create fake companies in the name of Indians and deposit the money they got through frauds in current accounts of these fake or shell companies. They would later transfer the money to Pakistan through international crypto exchange after converting it into crypto currency," the official said.

The investigation revealed that the cyber fraud network included Pakistani and Chinese nationals, apart from a registered chartered accountant, company secretary and traders, he said, adding that the network is spread throughout the country.

The police have so far arrested Aivik Kedia, a CA from Gurugram, Dolly Makhija, a company secretary and Vikki Makhija from Delhi, and Dilip Patel from Gujarat, the official said.

A hunt has been launched to track down the other accused Mumbai resident Vijay Chhutlani and Vijay Hariyani from Rajkot, he said.

The police have seized 60 digital signatures of directors of shell companies, three laptops, four pen drivers, a mobile phone, crypto trading statements, documents related to fake firms, Aadhaar and PAN cards of different people, four cheque books, a debit card and other documents, the official added.

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