Crypto fraud: Navi Mumbai cyber police freeze bank accounts worth Rs 32.66 crore

The Navi Mumbai cyber police, who are investigating a cryptocurrency fraud case, have taken action to freeze multiple bank accounts containing a total sum of Rs 32.66 crore. Senior police inspector Gajanan Kadam of the cyber police station in Navi Mumbai said they received a cheating complaint in August from a man who claimed to have invested more than Rs 6.6 crore in cryptocurrency trading.

The individual who lodged the complaint reported that he had been befriended by a woman caller. Subsequently, she encouraged him to invest in cryptocurrency trading, promising substantial returns. Initially, the complainant made significant investments and received a total of Rs 75 lakh in returns on multiple occasions. However, he later stopped receiving these returns, according to the official.

An offence in this connection was registered with the cyber police under various sections of the Indian Penal Code and the Information Technology Act. A police probe team enquired with various banks where the money was paid by the complainant and as a first step, got accounts involving amounts worth Rs 32,66,12,091 frozen over the last few weeks, the official said.

The police later arrested the two persons, identified as Balu Sakharam Khandagale (42) and Rajendra Ramkhilavan Patel (52), the official said. During the probe, it was revealed that the arrested persons had handed over mobile numbers, bank account details, cheque books and ATM cards of various persons to others involved in the crime.