Hyderabad: The Cyberabad cyber crime police busted cryptocurrency investment impersonating “Morgan Stanley” with the arrest of a 22-year-old person Pathi Manikanta from YSR Kadapa district in Andhra Pradesh.
The accomplices of Manikanta, who was in touch with crypto traders, agents and Chinese nationals, are absconding. All the wanted crypto traders and agents belong to Haryana, according to police, who said that efforts were being made to arrest them.
The cyber crime police booked a case in August 2024 based on a complaint lodged by a 47-year-old software engineer regarding a crypto investment scheme impersonating Morgan Stanley. He said he lost a sum of 55,066 USDT (a type of stable virtual digital asset with $1 value), equivalent to Rs. 52.31 lakh, the police said.
Manikanta contacted the complainant via Telegram and WhatsApp using more than 44 UK based WhatsApp numbers promising 20 per cent daily return on investment for a crypto investment scheme. Impersonating Morgan Stanley, they gained the complainant’s confidence and encouraged him to invest in a fraud crypto scheme for around a month.
The accused were using sophisticated layering techniques to launder crime proceeds across multiple crypto platforms including Binance, Kucoin, Trust Wallet etc, the police said.
Owing to complex layering on the blockchain network and transnational nature of crime, a team of tech-savvy police personnel and crypto experts was formed. Technical investigation and interrogation of the accused has revealed connections to China, Hong Kong and the United Kingdom.
The accused was in constant touch with other Chinese criminal groups over Telegram for purchase and supply of mule bank accounts on commission basis. Udhyam registration certificates were also recovered from phone which are suspected to be used for opening mule accounts in banks
Following court’s order, Binance has seized the stolen assets. To expedite the recovery of funds to the complainant’s account assistance from Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C), the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) cryptocurrency investigation assistance team and FIU-Ind will be taken if required.
In an advisory to people, the Cyberabad police asked the people not to invest in schemes which are too good to be true. Telegram and WhatsApp based investment schemes may be fake. Always verify the credentials of the company offline before proceeding with investment, the police.
The police further stated that investment in cryptocurrency may be risky owing to its decentralized nature and in case of any fraud, the people can call 1930 or report cybercrime on www.cybercrime.gov.in. Citizens are advised to be cautious before investing in crypto currency or transferring money through private wallets as crypto currency transactions do not have authorized regulation.