Bengaluru, October 16, 2025
In a major crackdown on digital financial crimes, the Bengaluru Central Crime Branch (CCB) has busted a sophisticated cyber fraud ring operating a massive cryptocurrency Ponzi scheme, arresting 10 individuals and freezing assets worth over ₹120 crore. The syndicate allegedly defrauded more than 200 victims across India and abroad, luring them with promises of astronomical returns on fake crypto investments, police said on Thursday.
The operation, dubbed "Crypto Mirage" by investigators, came to light following a tip-off from a disgruntled insider who had been coerced into the gang, mirroring a bizarre twist in recent scams where fraudsters turned on their own. Led by a 32-year-old tech dropout from Whitefield, the ring targeted middle-class professionals, students, and retirees through social media platforms like WhatsApp, Telegram, and Instagram, posing as legitimate crypto trading firms with names like "Quantum Coin Ventures."
"Victims were enticed with 'guaranteed' 300% returns within weeks on investments in fictitious tokens like 'BengalBit' and 'Silicon Surge,'" explained CCB Deputy Commissioner Seema Latkar during a press briefing at the police headquarters. The scammers directed users to download a malicious app disguised as a trading platform, which, once installed, granted remote access to devices, siphoning funds from linked bank accounts and crypto wallets. In a chilling escalation, some victims reported 'digital arrests' – threats of legal action to extract more money.
The bust unfolded in coordinated raids across six locations in Bengaluru's outskirts, including HSR Layout and Electronic City, where the gang maintained a call center-like setup with over 50 SIM cards and burner phones. Among the arrested are the kingpin, identified as Ravi Kumar, a former software engineer with prior arrests in a 2023 investment fraud, along with five accomplices from Kerala and Tamil Nadu, and four women handling victim outreach. Police seized 25 laptops, 60 mobile devices, encrypted hard drives containing victim data, and digital wallets holding untraced cryptocurrencies valued at ₹15 crore.
Preliminary investigations reveal the fraud netted ₹100 crore over 18 months, with funds laundered through mule accounts in shell companies and converted to stablecoins like USDT before being transferred to overseas exchanges. Victims hail from states like Karnataka, Maharashtra, and Delhi, with at least 20 international complaints from the US and UAE funneled through Interpol. One victim, a 45-year-old IT manager from Koramangala who lost ₹5 lakh, recounted her ordeal: "They showed fake dashboards with surging profits, then vanished when I tried to withdraw. It's devastating – I borrowed from family for this 'opportunity'."
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has joined the probe under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), tracing proceeds linked to hawala networks and even a Bengaluru-based firm's hacked wallet in a related 2025 incident. "This syndicate exploited the crypto boom's hype, preying on the uninformed. We've frozen 150 bank accounts and are appealing to victims to come forward via our helpline," Latkar added, urging the public to verify platforms through the RBI's fintech registry.
This bust echoes a string of crypto-related takedowns in Bengaluru this year, including a ₹2.3 crore student-targeted scam in June and a dramatic ₹2 crore robbery hoax unmasked as an inside job in July. As India's crypto market surges past $5 trillion in trading volume, experts warn of rising deepfake-assisted frauds. The CCB has ramped up awareness drives, but with festive season approaching, authorities are on high alert for phishing spikes. Further arrests are anticipated as the investigation deepens, promising a deeper dive into the shadowy underbelly of India's digital gold rush.
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