Goemkarponn Desk
PANAJI: An UP native living in Siolim was taken into custody by the Goa police Cybercrime Cell for deceiving a Goan victim into sending Rs 45 lakh in fraudulent money transfers in April of this year.
Vivek Gautam, the accused, convinced the victim that his documents had been used in illicit money transactions by pretending to be a TRAI official and coercing the victim into transferring the money.
A 24-year-old local man who works as a bouncer in Siolim, Nikil Mane, has also been charged for enabling Gautam to use his account for the fraudulent transaction and assisting him in withdrawing some of the money that was deposited illegally. Gautam was involved in cryptocurrency trading, according to the police.
Following the complaint, the Cybercrime Police opened a case under Sections 419 and 420 read with 34 IPC and 66 D of the IT Act. Gautam was taken into custody and then freed on bond.
It came to light during the accused’s interrogation that he had previously traded in USDT (Crypto Currency), and that upon selling USDT, he had been receiving payments into numerous bank accounts belonging to people, including foreigners.
He exchanged foreign currencies for foreigners using cryptocurrency trading, keeping a portion for himself. Additionally, it was discovered that he was receiving money from more than 20 bank accounts.
These accounts were verified, and it was discovered that they were connected to various cybercrime (financial fraud) cases across the nation. Nine of these more than twenty bank accounts are currently frozen in various cases across the nation, and the remaining ones have been frozen as a result of cybercrime.
The public has been cautioned by the Cybercrime police to be wary of such fraudulent calls posing as the ED or Police and demanding money. It is always advisable to double-check the name of the bank account holder before transferring money and to get in touch with the local police department or Cybercrime PS right away.
