Uncover Rs 4.5-crore trail, link to Cambodia
The Cyber Police Station in Southwest Delhi has busted an alleged interstate cyber crime syndicate with suspected links to international cyber operators using WhatsApp numbers that have been traced to Cambodia, and arrested 8 accused, said police officials on Wednesday.
The accused have been identified as Harmanjot Singh, Qaisar Masoodi, Abhishek, Mohammad Zahid, Amir Malik, Amarjeet Ahirwar, Alok Sharma and Anant Pandey. The accused include engineering graduates, MBAs and individuals with cyber security qualifications. The racket allegedly duped victims through fake stock investment platforms and mule bank accounts spread across multiple states.
According to the police, the network was exposed following a complainant alleging that he was cheated of nearly Rs 24 lakh through an online stock market investment scheme. Based on the complaint, an e-FIR was registered on March 20, 2026, at the Cyber Police Station in Southwest Delhi under the relevant sections of the BNS.
Investigators said the complainant had been added to a WhatsApp group where admins projected the investment scheme as highly profitable by sharing fabricated screenshots of massive returns made from stock trading. Trusting the claims, the complainant transferred around Rs 24 lakh into different bank accounts provided by the fraudsters.
However, when the complainant attempted to withdraw his money and profits, the accused kept demanding additional deposits on various pretexts. Realising he had fallen victim to a fake investment scam, the complainant approached the NCRP portal. During investigation, the police carried out technical analysis of WhatsApp numbers, digital evidence and money trails. The probe revealed that the WhatsApp numbers used in the fraud were allegedly being operated from Cambodia, while the fraudulent investment website had already been deactivated.
The police said the cheated money was routed through multiple mule bank accounts opened in the names of shell firms across several states. An amount of Rs 6.7 lakh was traced to an account of “New Journey Overseas Pvt Ltd”, linked to accused Abhishek from Haryana’s Panipat. The police alleged that Abhishek, along with Harmanjot Singh and Qaisar Masoodi from Mohali, supplied the bank account to cyber fraud operators. Raids in Mohali and Panipat led to their arrest and recovery of digital evidence and commission-sharing records.
Investigators further traced Rs 2.6 lakh to an account in the name of “MZ Enterprises”, linked to accused Zahid and Amir Malik from Delhi’s Jafrabad area. The probe later uncovered another mule account linked to “Kanha Traders”, connected to accused Amarjeet Ahirwar and Alok Sharma from Madhya Pradesh. Following raids in the state, both were arrested.
During questioning, the duo allegedly disclosed the role of another accused, Anant Pandey of Rewa in Madhya Pradesh. The police claimed Pandey was in direct contact with foreign handlers through encrypted WhatsApp communication and acted as a conduit between Indian mule account suppliers and overseas cyber fraud syndicates linked to Cambodia.
Police teams conducted raids in Delhi, Haryana, Punjab and Madhya Pradesh during the operation.
The police said more than 60 NCRP complaints had already been linked to the mule accounts used by the syndicate. Transactions worth nearly Rs 4.5 crore routed through these accounts within a period of 14 days are currently under investigation, said officials.
The authorities said eight mobile phones, banking documents, commission-sharing records and other digital evidence related to the operation of mule accounts had been recovered from the accused and further investigation was underway.
