Jaipur: Rajasthan Police’s cybercrime cell Saturday arrested 17 people for allegedly siphoning off Rs 5.30 crore in a cyber fraud case in which an accountant was duped through a fake WhatsApp message impersonating his employer in the city.DIG, Cyber Crime, Shantanu Kumar Singh said the complainant who works as an accountant with Galaxy Mining Pvt Ltd, filed a complaint FIR on April 24, via the cybercrime helpline 1930, that he had received instructions from a WhatsApp number posing as the company’s chairman to transfer funds to two bank accounts. Acting on the message, he transferred Rs 5.30 crore, officials said.Singh said police teams traced the money trail by analysing multiple bank accounts used in the fraud. The investigation revealed that the funds were routed through several accounts, withdrawn in cash, and partly laundered using cryptocurrency, including USDT, as well as hawala channels.With support from police units in Kota Rural, Pali, Banswara, Jodhpur City and Barmer, teams arrested 17 accused, including bank account holders and intermediaries linked to the transactions.Police said the accused opened or arranged bank accounts to receive the fraud amount, after which funds were either withdrawn, transferred further, or converted into cryptocurrency in exchange for commissions. Some acted as middlemen, while others provided bank accounts or facilitated transactions.Several of those arrested were engaged in low-paying jobs such as salon work, small shops or daily wage labour, and were lured with commissions ranging from Rs 3,000 to Rs 50,000. Others allegedly opened accounts in their own or relatives’ names and handed over access to the network.Investigators said gang members frequently met at tea stalls to coordinate operations, exchange bank details, withdraw cash and distribute commissions to avoid attracting attention.Police said further investigation is underway to trace the wider network and identify additional links in the inter-state cyber fraud operation.
