Andhra Pradesh CID busts Rs 15 crore transnational crypto fraud
Police secured a court order to return defrauded assets to a Tenali woman after tracing USD 1.5 million in transactions.
The Andhra Pradesh Crime Investigation Department (CID) has uncovered a transnational cryptocurrency investment fraud involving nearly Rs 15 crore, according to reports by Rediff and Telangana Today. The investigation targeted an organised crime syndicate that allegedly cheated a woman from Tenali in the Guntur district.
The victim was reportedly enticed into cryptocurrency investments through promises of high returns. She moved money from her bank accounts into 13 non-custodial wallets, including one on Robinhood and 12 on-chain wallets, before sending funds to the fraudulent platforms Honeycombapi.org and Alibarbit.bit.
Investigators traced 27 transactions involving Bitcoin, Solana, and Dogecoin, totalling approximately USD 1.5 million. These funds were moved through various layers and mule accounts before reaching Gate Global Corporation, an exchange located in the Cayman Islands.
The CID, with technical support from the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C) under the Union Home Ministry, identified eight accused individuals. The group includes two people each from Hyderabad, Maharashtra, and China, along with one person from Malaysia and one from Portugal.
A charge sheet has been filed against the syndicate. On October 30, 2026, the VI Additional Junior Civil Judge-cum-Special Court for CID Cases in Guntur issued an order for the return of property.
The court directed Gate Global Corporation to convert the frozen assets in four identified accounts into USDT at the current market value. The total amount is to be transferred to the designated wallet of the victim.