A 25-year-old BSc Chemistry graduate from Pune has been arrested for allegedly duping a Delhi woman of over Rs 12.85 lakh through a cryptocurrency investment scam on Telegram, the police said on Friday.
The incident came to light on May 20 when two complaints were filed by the victim, stating that she had been approached by someone posing as a financial advisor on Telegram. The individual allegedly lured her with the promise of high returns on cryptocurrency investments.
In her complaint, the woman said that, trusting the advisor, she made 29 separate transactions into various bank accounts, amounting to a total of Rs 12.85 lakh. However, when she attempted to withdraw her money, she was denied access and realised she had been cheated, she said.
According to the police, the investigation revealed that one of the bank accounts used in the fraud had received a significant amount of funds and withdrawals were being made from an ATM in Pune.
“The fraudsters had made a complex transaction trail, making it challenging to identify the real culprits. But, working patiently, the team found that in one of the beneficiary accounts in Pune, the cheated amount was being withdrawn from an ATM, and the account received a substantial amount in a limited time,” Vichitra Veer, Deputy Commissioner of Police (West), said. The police laid a trap and arrested Rugved Ashwin Dengle, he added.
The police allegedly recovered 14 ATM cards, 15 chequebooks, six passbooks, four smartphones with SIM cards, and Rs 3.45 lakh in cash from Dengle.
According to the police, Dengle had previously invested in local film production ventures and had suffered substantial financial losses. He came into contact with an unidentified individual on Telegram who introduced him to cybercrime, following which he became involved in arranging mule bank accounts for receiving defrauded funds in exchange for cryptocurrency USDT, the police claimed. Dengle distributed the funds across multiple accounts before withdrawing the cash from ATMs, the police added.
Story continues below this ad
Further investigation is underway to identify other individuals involved in the racket and to trace the remaining money, the police said.