Transnational crypto scam fraudsters impersonating Morgan Stanley busted by Cyberabad police
The Hindu
Cyberabad police bust transnational cybercrime syndicate impersonating Morgan Stanley, cautioning citizens against fraudulent cryptocurrency schemes on Telegram and WhatsApp which promise unrealistic returns
A transnational cybercrime syndicate operating through Telegram and WhatsApp was busted by the Cybercrime unit of the Cyberabad police, in which fraudsters impersonated Morgan Stanley.
The case was registered in August 2024 following a complaint by a 47-year-old software engineer who was lured into the scam through UK-based WhatsApp numbers promising 20% daily return on investment. Trusting the lucrative offer, he invested in the fraudulent crypto scheme over a period of one month.
Eventually, he realised he had been deceived, losing a sum of 55,066 USDT, a stable virtual digital asset valued at approximately ₹52.31 lakh.
The police arrested Pathi Manikanta, a 22-year-old from Y.S.R Kadapa district, Andhra Pradesh. He was identified as a crypto and mule account trader with direct connections to cryptocurrency agents and Chinese nationals. Meanwhile, his accomplices from Haryana remain at large, with efforts underway to secure their arrest.
The investigation revealed that the criminal syndicate deployed sophisticated layering techniques to launder the illicit proceeds across multiple cryptocurrency platforms, including Binance, KuCoin and Trust Wallet. Manikanta was allegedly found to be in constant communication with other Chinese criminal groups via Telegram, facilitating the purchase and supply of mule bank accounts on a commission basis.
During the investigation, the police also recovered UDHYAM Registration certificates from his phone, which are suspected to have been used for opening mule accounts in various banks.
Due to the transnational nature of the crime and the complexity of blockchain-based financial transactions, a dedicated team comprising tech-savvy police personnel and cryptocurrency experts was formed to trace the digital money trail. Technical evidence and interrogations have uncovered links to China, Hong Kong and the United Kingdom, exposing the vast international reach of the criminal network.
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