Hyderabad Cyber Crime Police have arrested two men for their involvement in a high-value digital arrest cyber fraud that resulted in a retired senior citizen being cheated of Rs 59 lakh. The case has revealed the existence of a large interstate cybercrime syndicate linked to at least 65 fraud cases across India.
The arrested accused have been identified as Surampudi Chandrasekhar (31) and Emandi Venkat Naveen (25), both natives of Kakinada in Andhra Pradesh. Investigators revealed that the duo acted as “account suppliers,” providing banking channels used to launder fraud proceeds. Their accounts were allegedly used to route transactions worth nearly Rs 8 crore.
During the arrests, police seized five mobile phones, four cheque books, ten debit cards, and three PAN cards, all suspected to have been used in multiple cybercrime operations.
The fraud dates back to December 4, when the victim began receiving WhatsApp calls from fraudsters impersonating police and government officials. The scammers falsely accused the senior citizen of involvement in human trafficking, overseas job scams, and money laundering. To intensify the fear, the criminals shared fake arrest warrants via WhatsApp, pressuring the victim into compliance.
Between December 4 and 6, the victim was coerced into transferring Rs 59,00,300 via RTGS from a Union Bank of India account.
Explaining the modus operandi, DCP Cyber Crime V Arvind Babu said the syndicate operated with meticulous planning. Fraudsters deployed malicious APK files to gain unauthorized access to victims’ internet banking and SMS services. The stolen money was funneled through 15 shell company current accounts, converted into USDT cryptocurrency, and later withdrawn through Binance P2P transactions into personal accounts.
“The arrested accused facilitated the crime by arranging bank accounts and technical access for routing cheated funds. They received payments in cryptocurrency, which were later converted to Indian currency,” DCP Arvind Babu stated.
While the two accused have been remanded to judicial custody, the prime suspects behind the operation remain absconding. Police officials confirmed that further investigations are underway to dismantle the remaining network of the interstate cybercrime racket.
