Police said accounts were opened in a Sundargarh branch to conceal the transfer of fraud proceeds

Jharsuguda: In a major crackdown on cyber fraudsters, Belpahar police busted an inter-state syndicate involved in laundering fraud proceeds through mule bank accounts and cryptocurrency wallets. So far, fraudulent transactions linked to the cases have crossed Rs 14 crore and seven persons arrested in two cases, police said on Saturday.Those arrested in one case are the mastermind, Himanshu Kumar Shrivastav (33) of Gautam Budh Nagar, Uttar Pradesh, Paramananda Das (38) of Nuapada (Brajrajnagar), Stifan Bastaraya (37) of Belpahar, Tanoj Pradhan(40) of Lamtibahal, Kedar Pradhan(40) of Pudapali, and Bhima Munda(30) of IB Jamera in Jharsuguda district.During searches, police seized a laptop, eight mobile handsets, including devices with crypto apps, international and domestic SIM cards (including Sri Lankan and Thai numbers), 10 debit cards, eight bank passbooks and cheque books linked to multiple enterprises, an Indian passport, PAN and Aadhaar cards, and other financial documents.In another case, Laikera police arrested Ishwar Daruan (24), an employee of a small finance bank in Jharsuguda, for allegedly opening bank accounts door-to-door in different villages in collusion with cyber fraudsters. Police said accounts were opened in a Sundargarh branch despite account holders belonging to Jharsuguda to conceal the transfer of fraud proceeds. Police seized his bank identity card, two mobile phones, including one used for opening accounts, and visiting cards.SP (Jharsuguda) GR Raghavendra said, “The accused used mule bank accounts and crypto wallets to mask the source and destination of funds, facilitating laundering and transnational cyber fraud schemes.”