The Assam Police have busted a couple of multi-level cryptocurrency scams by cybercriminals operating from villages near the Assam-Bangladesh border.
Within three days, the police in western Assam’s South Salmara-Mankachar district arrested five persons for running fraudulent cryptocurrency schemes. The schemes, RSN Crypto Currency Token and Crypto TLC 2.0, offered monthly returns on investment of up to 6% through artificial intelligence-powered Forex trading.
Interrogation of the accused revealed at least 1 lakh down-line members of the scheme put in more than ₹220 crore in these multi-level schemes.
The police said the accused used online payment platforms such PhonePe, Paytm, and Binance, a Chinese cryptocurrency exchange for Bitcoins, Ethereum, and Altcoins, to convert Indian rupees into U.S. dollar tokens before transferring the funds to unknown international entities.
On March 4, a team led by sub-inspector Jayanta Rajkhowa of the South Salmara police station caught 26-year-old Akheruzzaman Ahmed and 27-year-old Nur Alom Ahmed from Tumni Simlakandi village.
“Apart from several mobile phones, laptops, and crypto scheme documents, we established their links with Dubai-based Lavish Chaudhury, previously accused in a ₹500 crore fraud in Himachal Pradesh. He held a meeting at a resort in Guwahati with the accused and other team members,” a police official probing the case said.
Assistance from I4C
“I4C (Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre) of the Ministry of Home Affairs is assisting us in the case. Efforts are under way to trace money flow and the identity of the other suspects,” he said.
On March 1, another police team caught Asadul Islam (25), Hashanur Zaman (28), and Kobad Ali Mollah (28) from different areas of the South Salmara-Mancachar district for their involvement in a cryptocurrency fraud scheme.
“The accused deceived more than 2,000 people in the district and adjoining Meghalaya, luring them into investing a minimum of ₹50,000 in fake ‘RSN’ crypto tokens. They were also found renting their bank accounts to cybercriminals elsewhere in the country for ₹1,000-2,000 per account per month,” the police official said.
