Andhra Pradesh CID arrests eight in Rs 15 crore crypto fraud case
The investigation uncovered a transnational syndicate that cheated a Tenali woman through fraudulent investment platforms.
The Andhra Pradesh Crime Investigation Department (CID) has arrested eight people in connection with a transnational cryptocurrency investment fraud involving approximately Rs 15 crore, according to the Deccan Herald. The accused belong to Hyderabad, Maharashtra, China, Malaysia, and Portugal.
The fraud targeted a woman from Tenali who was promised high returns on cryptocurrency investments. Investigators found that the victim moved money from her bank accounts into 13 non-custodial wallets, including one on Robinhood and 12 on Onchain, before transferring them to the platforms Honeycombapi.org and Alibarbit.bit.
A total of 27 transactions involving Bitcoin, Solana, and Dogecoin, worth about $1.5 million, were made to the fraudulent sites. The funds were moved through various layers and mule accounts before reaching Gate Global Corporation, an exchange based in the Cayman Islands.
CID Chief DGP A Ravi Shankar said the department used blockchain analysis and international coordination to trace the movement of the defrauded assets. Through these efforts, 15 Bitcoin transactions were linked to four accounts on the Gate.io exchange.
The investigation was conducted with technical assistance from the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C) under the Ministry of Home Affairs. A charge sheet has been filed against the organised crime syndicate.
The VI Additional Junior Civil Judge-cum-Special Court for CID Cases in Guntur issued a Return of Property Order. The court directed Gate Global Corp to convert the frozen cryptocurrency into USDT at current market rates and transfer the amount to the victim's wallet.