Eight fraudsters have been nabbed for operating an interstate investment fraud conspiracy. Delhi Police informed about the development on Sunday(18th January), and highlighted that their ring managed to embezzle around Rs 4 crore through mule bank accounts in just 14 days. Police discovered that the group had connections to handlers in Cambodia. According to reports, further probe has now pointed to a Pakistani connection to the network, reported The Indian Express. The investigation was conducted by top central agencies.
PS Cyber, @dcp_southwest cracked down on an interstate investment fraud racket operating across Telangana, UP, Rajasthan & Delhi.
— Delhi Police (@DelhiPolice) January 18, 2026
08 cheats/fraudsters arrested, 10 high-tech mobile phones containing mule account details recovered.
The syndicate routed duped money through Indian… pic.twitter.com/4errdwZgBW
Moreover, 5,000 Indians have been found to be stranded in Cambodia after they were duped into engaging in cybercrime through phoney job opportunities. They were then trafficked and exploited overseas. A few of them have been saved since then.
A source disclosed, “After returning from these scam compounds, a number of victims informed officials of central agencies that they were recruited by Pakistani agents.” Digital footprints, including IP logs from recruitment calls and chats, were used in forensic analysis and they outlined the presence of operatives in India’s hostile neighbour.
The person mentioned, “On the basis of their information, forensic analysis of such IP addresses was examined, and they have been traced to servers and handlers based in Pakistan, revealing a coordinated network that preyed on vulnerable job-seekers from places like Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Mumbai, Telangana and Kerala.”
The insider stated that the issue was also covered at the two-day “Anti-Terrorism Conference-2025” in December and emphasised, “This is not just a cyber-fraud racket – it’s a targeted operation exploiting our youth.” The source also conveyed that the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and National Investigation Agency (NIA), among other government agencies, have expanded the net to uncover the syndicate.
The central bodies have entered all of these IP addresses in the “suspect registry” after tracking them to Pakistan. All banks have access to the registry, which was built by the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C) and is based on the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal. It contains information on 1.4 million cybercriminals connected to financial fraud and other such crimes.
According to data, the registry helped freeze 5,54,865 accounts that received illicit funds, detected 15,10,800 distinct accounts and saved Rs 7,980 crore after nearly 20 lakh illegal transactions were denied. The authorities also stated that Chinese fraudsters who function from high-security compounds in Southeast Asia are behind these ploys targeting Indians after which they are exploited there alongside other victims of human trafficking.
The aforementioned scam surfaced on 7th November 2024 following a complaint by a 42-year-old woman from Vasant Kunj who charged that she had been defrauded of Rs 15.58 lakh under the guise of a stock market transaction. The scammers provided the woman “expert guidance” and promised massive returns as she moved the amount to accounts under their control.
Fund transfers and mule accounts had been facilitated by the arrested perpetrators in exchange for commissions. The accounts were formed using bogus businesses and then handed to foreign handlers via Telegram and other platforms. Several Indian bank accounts were used to layer the proceeds of crime to avoid detection before being transferred abroad.
Multiple people from different parts of the country had been deceived, which led to an inquiry into the matter. Police stressed that this gang might be tied to at least 63 complaints that were filed on the National Cybercrime Reporting Portal (NCRP). Raids were conducted to capture the culprits.
