Maharashtra Nodal Cyber Police have arrested Suraj Surender Dahiya (27), a cryptocurrency trader from Sonipat, Haryana, in connection with a high-profile Rs2 crore cyber fraud involving fake WhatsApp impersonation and sophisticated money laundering.
Between April 10 and April 15, 2025, scammers impersonated the Managing Director of an electronics manufacturing company using his photo on WhatsApp and convinced the company’s accountant to urgently process RTGS payments under the guise of business-related transactions. Falling for the scam, the accountant transferred Rs95 lakh to PR Education & Immigration Pvt Ltd and Rs95 lakh to AK Infra.
A third transfer of Rs90 lakh to Rajanandani Jewellers was halted when the accountant became suspicious and contacted his actual employer. By then, Rs1.90 crore had already been siphoned.
Investigators uncovered a complex 13-layer laundering trail, involving 34 bank accounts, cash withdrawals, and crypto conversions. One key transfer involved Rs19 lakh, which landed in a PNB account held by Nisha Rana Rathi in Greater Noida. She allegedly withdrew the cash and deposited it in a Spice Money account.
A Spice Money associate identified the cash collector as Suraj Dahiya, who received the amount through a Haryana-based distributor, acting on instructions from a contact in Uttar Pradesh.
Police arrested Dahiya at their Mahape office. He is accused of converting part of the money into cryptocurrency, keeping a portion as commission, and giving evasive responses during interrogation.
Dahiya has been booked under cheating, forgery, criminal breach of trust under relevant Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) sections and Sections 66C and 66D of the Information Technology Act.
Authorities have also summoned Dheeraj Paswan, who revealed that cash was exchanged for USDT cryptocurrency under promises made by another associate named Raubikumar.
The cybercrime syndicate, believed to have links in Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, and international crypto platforms like Binance, is under further investigation. Police are working to trace the mastermind behind the fake WhatsApp profile and the network used to layer and launder stolen funds.
