Cyber swindlers dupe 244 people of Rs 10 crore; cop among 3 held in Jaipur

JAIPUR: In a major cyber fraud bust, Jaipur police (South) exposed a gang that reportedly duped around 244 people of nearly Rs 10 crore by luring them to invest in a fake Bitcoin mining scheme that promised high returns. Three accused, including a police constable posted in Barmer, were arrested in a joint operation by Rajasthan police's Cyber Cell and personnel from Shyam Nagar Police Station Monday.

Other gang members associated with the fraud have been identified and efforts are underway to nab them as well.


Police said the gang operated its fraudulent scheme through social media and an online investment platform named Bitmineworld.

"They promised investors returns of up to 16% to attract and add more participants into the scheme," Rajshri Raj Verma, deputy commissioner of police (South), told TOI. "Investors were asked to invest $100 to $1,000 USD and promised 16% returns, along with additional referral bonuses in cryptocurrency," he added.

Investigators said the gang's kingpin, identified as Avinash Sharma, converted the money collected from unsuspecting investors into USDT cryptocurrency and transferred it to associates based in Malaysia. "To gain the trust of victims, the gang showed prospective investors videos of a cryptocurrency mining server room in Malaysia and claimed their investments would be used to run a large-scale Bitcoin mining operation," Verma added.

Shyam Nagar police station SHO Dalbeer Singh Faujdar said the fraud came to light following a complaint lodged by one Dilip Singh Rajawat, a resident of Jaipur's Panchsheel Colony.