BENGALURU: In one of the biggest cybercrime crackdowns in Karnataka, the Hulimavu police have unearthed a massive cyber fraud racket involving more than Rs 1,000 crore, carried out in the name of stock market trading and online betting. The operation, which spanned multiple states and had international links, has led to the arrest of 12 accused, including a mother-son duo who allegedly played a crucial role in opening fake bank accounts to route illicit funds.
Police have also frozen around 4,500 bank accounts across the country, successfully blocking nearly ₹240 crore from being siphoned off by the fraudsters. The investigation has revealed a highly organised network that lured unsuspecting victims with promises of extraordinary returns before vanishing with their investments.
Arrests and seizures
The arrested accused have been identified as Mohammed Huzaifa of Anjanapura in JP Nagar, his mother Shabana, Ankith Kumar Singh (Uttar Pradesh), Ajith Kumar Yadav (Bihar), M Abhishek Singh Rathod (Rajasthan), Vishwaraj Singh Shekhawat, Kushal Singh Chouhan, Satyam Kumar Pandey, Akash Jaiswal, Pradeep Singh, Pitambar Singh and Ajay Kumar.
From their possession, police have seized 58 mobile phones, seven laptops, nine smartwatches, 531 grams of gold jewellery and Rs 4.89 lakh in cash, with the total value of seized assets estimated at over Rs 1 crore.
Mastermind hiding abroad
According to the police, the mastermind behind the scam is Prem Taneja, a Mumbai-based operator who is currently hiding in Dubai. A Look Out Circular (LOC) has been issued through Interpol to trace and apprehend him. Authorities believe Taneja managed the entire operation remotely, carefully avoiding direct exposure.
The scam came to light after a resident of Akshay Nagar filed a complaint at the Hulimavu police station, stating that he had lost over Rs 3 crore after being lured into a fraudulent stock trading scheme. Acting on the complaint, a special investigation team was formed under the guidance of Electronics City DCP M. Narayan, led by ACP K.M. Satish and Inspector B.G. Kumaraswamy.
How the scam worked
Police Commissioner Seemanth Kumar Singh said the fraudsters had developed two sophisticated platforms‘Swamiji.com’ for online gaming and betting, and ‘Neo System’ for stock market trading around three years ago. These websites and mobile applications were aggressively promoted through Facebook, Instagram, Telegram and other social media platforms.
Victims were promised unrealistically high returns, with initial investments apparently yielding double or even five times the amount. For instance, an investment of Rs 1,000 would fetch a “profit” of Rs 5,000 in the early stages. Once trust was established and victims invested larger sums running into lakhs and crores, the fraudsters abruptly stopped payouts and disappeared.
Fake bank accounts and money laundering
A key element of the operation was the creation of thousands of fake and mule bank accounts used to launder the money. Mohammed Huzaifa and his mother, Shabana, allegedly helped open these accounts by recruiting daily wage workers and economically weaker individuals, paying them Rs 25,000 to Rs 30,000 each.
Over the last two years, Huzaifa is said to have supplied nearly 7,500 bank accounts to the syndicate. The funds collected from victims were rapidly transferred across multiple accounts to avoid detection.
Delhi hub and salaried operators
The investigation revealed that the syndicate operated a central office in Delhi, where several arrested accused worked as salaried employees. They handled customer communication, account management and fund transfers under the instructions of Prem Taneja. Police said these employees were paid monthly salaries to keep the scam running smoothly.
Lavish lifestyle and high-tech secrecy
Huzaifa, a college dropout with advanced technical skills, allegedly lived a lavish lifestyle using proceeds from the scam. He reportedly made frequent trips to Dubai, purchased an apartment near Anjanapura, and gifted gold jewellery to his girlfriend. Sources claim his monthly income ranged between Rs 30 lakh and Rs 35 lakh.
To evade law enforcement, the accused used satellite phones, making it extremely difficult to trace call origins or locations.
