CBI searches 15 locations to investigate cyber fraud network
13 Mar 2026, 02:58 PMThe defrauded funds were quickly moved through multiple mule bank accounts, or routed through wallet top-ups on overseas fintech platforms, particularly Pyypl.
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The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has carried out coordinated searches at 15 locations across Delhi, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and Punjab as part of an investigation into a large-scale online investment and part-time job fraud network that allegedly routed defrauded funds through overseas fintech platforms, including Dubai-based Pyypl.
The case was registered by the central agency based on inputs from the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C). Investigators found that the network used social media platforms, mobile applications and encrypted messaging services to lure victims with promises of high returns from online investments and part-time job opportunities.
Victims were initially encouraged to deposit small sums and were shown fictitious profits to build trust. Once convinced, they were persuaded to invest significantly larger amounts.
According to the agency, the defrauded funds were quickly moved through multiple mule bank accounts to obscure the money trail before being withdrawn using debit cards at offshore ATMs or routed through wallet top-ups on overseas fintech platforms, particularly Pyypl.
The development comes amid rising concerns that thousands of unsuspecting Indians are losing crores of rupees to deceptive online schemes operated by transnational cybercrime syndicates.
The CBI identified Ashok Kumar Sharma, a chartered accountant based in Bijwasan village on the Delhi-Gurugram border, as the alleged kingpin of the network.
Further investigation found that Sharma had allegedly used another arm of the operation to siphon off around Rs 900 crore over the past year. The funds were routed through 15 shell companies to two entities that converted the proceeds into Tether stablecoins (USDT) via India-based virtual asset exchanges and transferred the cryptocurrency to their whitelisted wallets.
The agency had earlier frozen the bank accounts used by these entities, along with the funds lying in them, in September 2025.
The CBI has since taken Sharma into custody for interrogation.
Searches also revealed that several directors listed for the shell companies were unsuspecting individuals who had been fraudulently appointed using forged or misleading documentation.
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