Massive cybercrime racket busted in Surat: Rs 1,455 crore laundered through 90 bank accounts; accounts tied to Cuba, Malaysia, Thailand

Time of India

19 hours ago

SURAT: The investigation into a massive international cybercrime racket busted last month in Surat has revealed a staggering Rs 1,455 crore was laundered through 90 bank accounts that were opened by misusing documents of needy people over the last six months.
The total amount siphoned off could rise to Rs 2,000 crore, as the police are yet to examine details of another 75 suspicious accounts.
The racket was unearthed on May 22, when Udhna police detained a man carrying suspicious stamps and bank kits. The probe led to a raid at an office in Mota Varachha operated by Kirat Jadwani, Meet Khokhar, and Mayur Italiya, all of whom were subsequently arrested. Police recovered a trove of incriminating documents, cash, stamps, and banking kits.
According to investigators, an international cybercrime syndicate — with operatives based in Cuba, Malaysia, and Thailand — used these accounts to park defrauded money linked to various online scams. The accounts were opened in private banks such as RBL, Axis, Yes Bank, and Kotak Mahindra, primarily through their branches in Vesu, Sahara Darwaja, and Varachha.
Another major revelation during the probe was that 2,500 cybercrime complaints across India were linked to 165 bank accounts connected with the accused.
Of these, 265 complaints were from Gujarat, including 36 from Surat cyberfraud victims alone.
Deputy commissioner of police (zone-2) Bhagirath Gadhvi confirmed that Rs 1,455 crore worth of transactions were recorded in the 90 RBL bank accounts scrutinized over the past six months. "Some accounts had transactions ranging between ₹10 crore and ₹50 crore. Complaints on the national cybercrime portal confirmed these accounts were used to route funds from digital arrest scams, online betting, and other cyber frauds," Gadhvi told TOI.
Udhna police inspector SN Desai added, "We found 2,500 cybercrime complaints linked to these accounts nationwide. The scale and spread of this fraud are unprecedented."
Jadwani, one of the key accused, had reportedly suffered heavy losses in the warehouse business after which he turned to cybercrime in July 2024. He would identify individuals in financial distress and pay them up to Rs 8 lakh in exchange for their identity documents, which were then used to open current accounts.
Some of these accounts were also opened in the names of non-existent companies.
Jadwani allegedly earned around Rs 10 crore in commissions for renting out these accounts to cybercriminals.
Desai added: "We found Rs 1.40 crores from Jadwani's accounts, which were frozen. In 90 bank accounts we checked, we found that Rs 1.10 crores was seized by different agencies and banks."
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