Ankit Jain, a former employee of Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) and a BTech graduate, was arrested by Delhi police for his involvement in a widespread cyber fraud operation that exploited vulnerable individuals’ bank accounts. Jain, who reportedly has a history of gambling and involvement in cricket and casino betting, is the fifth person to be arrested in connection with this cybercrime syndicate.
The investigation revealed that Jain’s gang was involved in a scam targeting low-income individuals, such as rickshaw drivers, small vendors, and other working-class people. These victims were enticed with the promise of earning Rs10,000 a month by opening bank accounts for the accused. Once the accounts were opened, the scammers would collect bank instruments like ATM cards, SIM cards, and cheque books, which were then misused for larger-scale cybercrimes.
Devender Kumar Yadav, who was responsible for opening the bank accounts, and Ankit Jain, who kept the SIM cards, used these to carry out fraudulent activities.
Jain is believed to have obtained a franchise of the Mahadev Betting network in 2023, which gave him access to multiple bank accounts. These accounts were sold to handlers based in Dubai, facilitating cross-border cyber fraud.
Devender Kumar Yadav and Sankar Suvan Shukla, both from Uttar Pradesh, were identified as the masterminds behind the scheme. They manipulated vulnerable individuals into opening accounts that would later be sold or used in cybercrimes.
Investigators have uncovered details of around 700 bank accounts, with approximately 100 accounts already frozen in different parts of the country due to their involvement in cyber fraud.
The accused were also found using platforms like Telegram to sell the stolen bank account details and SIM cards to other cybercriminals, further expanding the scope of their fraudulent activities.
Additionally, Birender Yadav, a hotel manager, provided shelter to the suspects for over a month and a half, failing to report their stay to authorities. Avinash, an assistant manager at Indian Bank in Chandigarh, was also implicated for opening bank accounts without proper verification under the instructions of Devender and Sankar.