Cambodia Crypto Fraud Mastermind traced to UP in India: Police

Police in India have arrested a cyber criminal mastermind from Uttar Pradesh state, for running a cyber crime syndicate involving cryptocurrencies, in Cambodia that targeted victims in South East Asia. The accused, a native of UP, had travelled to Cambodia back in 2022 and joined a cyber criminals’ group and was personally involved in over 500 cyber crime cases registered in India.

According to police, the accused has been identified as Devendra Pratap Mourya, who was allegedly running a gang of over 40 cyber criminals from Cambodia who duped victims across the globe using several modus operandi. The crime proceeds was then converted into various cryptocurrencies and distributed among the syndicate members by Mourya.

The accused was part of a large operation in Cambodia and Southeast Asia that engaged in multiple illegal activities, such as cryptocurrency scams, human trafficking, and cyber slavery. Police added that thousands of Indian victims have been caught up in these crimes, finding it difficult to return to India due to passport restrictions or financial extortion imposed by the syndicate. The racket utilized pre-activated SIM cards, mule bank accounts, and local agents to lure Indian youth with promises of lucrative IT jobs, only to exploit them for cybercrime activities.

According to a report in The New Indian Express newspaper, the investigation began after a senior central government official reported fraud amounting to Rs 67.7 lakh. The operation was conducted under the supervision of the SP in Rourkela in Odisha. The scam involved a fake trading app Indira Securities that has portrayed itself as a legal entity of the SEBI. As the case developed, investigators traced the fraud to an international syndicate with a network spanning several Southeast Asian countries.