Rourkela: In a significant crackdown on cybercrime, the Rourkela Cyber Police have busted a fraud racket with suspected international links, arresting nine individuals accused of duping unsuspecting investors through a fake trading app named ‘TradeNow’.

Acting on credible intelligence, the cyber police first raided an apartment in the Civil Township area, detaining two suspects. Their interrogation led to a second raid in Basanti Colony, resulting in the detention of five more individuals. Further investigation led to the arrest of two more suspects from Raipur, Chhattisgarh.

Per officials, of the total accused seven persons acted as mule account operators, facilitating fraudulent transactions via the fake trading app. During questioning, it was revealed that these accounts were being used to transact over ₹50 lakh daily.

The investigation also uncovered the alleged mastermind of the operation—Kishan Agrawal—who was operating out of Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Police sources stated the racket was being run in India as well as multiple countries.

The police suspect the scope of the fraud is far more extensive. Through the Samanvaya Portal of the Indian Cybercrime Coordination Centre (I4C) under the Ministry of Home Affairs, officials confirmed the arrested individuals and the mule accounts are linked to at least 27 cybercrime cases across the country.

The financial trail suggests the fraudulent transactions were routed through hawala channels. Investigators believe an international organised crime syndicate, with operations across South and West Asian countries, is involved. 

So far, ₹1.41 crore has been seized from 23 bank accounts linked to the accused. Authorities believe more funds may be unearthed, as verification of 176 additional bank accounts is still underway.

Arrested Individuals:

Kishan Agrawal – Raipur, Chhattisgarh

Kunal Agarwal – Raipur, Chhattisgarh

Arjun Singh – Rudraprayag, Uttarakhand

Girdhari Singh – Jaspur, Chhattisgarh

Ajay Kumar – Korba, Chhattisgarh

Sandeep Kumar Soni – Baloda Bazar, Chhattisgarh

Soumendra Singh Rajput – Janjgir Champa, Chhattisgarh

Abhijit Bharadwaj – Raigarh, Chhattisgarh

Dinesh Kumar Sahu – Janjgir Champa, Chhattisgarh

Items Seized:

5 laptops

31 mobile phones

68 SIM cards

2 fibre network routers

20 identity documents

4 bank passbooks and cheque books

2 pen drives

19 debit-cum-ATM cards

1 four-wheeler and 1 two-wheeler

A case has been registered at the Rourkela Cyber Crime & Economic Offences Police Station (Case No. 04) under Sections 318(4), 319(2), 336(3), 338, 61, and 111(2)(b) of the BSN Act, read with Sections 66-C and 66-D of the Information Technology Act.

The investigation remains ongoing, with police expecting more revelations as they continue to trace the money trail and network behind the scam.