Bareilly company director arrested for renting out company's bank account to cyber fraudsters: How network spread across 11 states

Director of a private company based in Bareilly has been arrested for renting out his company's bank account to cyber criminals. Police has arrested Pradeep Kumar Singh, for allegedly leasing his company's bank account to cybercriminals who siphoned off an estimated Rs 3.2 crore from victims across 11 states. The illicit funds were swiftly converted into USDT cryptocurrency and routed to digital wallets reportedly operating from Hong Kong, significantly complicating recovery efforts.According to Bareilly police, Singh, director of

Narayani Infratech

, received an advance payment of ₹75,000 for allowing his company's account to be used in the elaborate fraud scheme. Police departments in states including Delhi, Maharashtra, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Madhya Pradesh, and Uttarakhand had been tracking his activities.Cybercell SHO Dinesh Sharma revealed details of the investigation, stating, "Our investigation found that ₹3.2 crore obtained through fraud were transferred to Narayani Infratech's bank account on June 18 and 19. Of this, ₹1.1 crore came from the account of a scientist posted at IVRI Bareilly who was digitally arrested by the fraudsters. The remaining amount was sent through fraud from other states. On June 20, the entire amount was withdrawn from the account, which was then frozen."Investigators have seized three mobile phones, an Aadhaar card, a PAN card, and a crypto wallet from the suspects. They are currently analyzing the crypto wallet to establish connections to a suspected international network, with initial findings pointing towards operations based in China.

SP (Crime) Manish Sonkar affirmed the ongoing nature of the investigation. "The investigation is progressing and the entire network will soon be dismantled," Sonkar stated. He confirmed that nine suspects have been jailed in connection with the case. In addition to Pradeep Kumar Singh, Mahfooz and Aman were arrested and jailed on Sunday. Previously, six other suspects from various districts, including Lucknow, Mirzapur, and Budaun, had also been apprehended and sent to jail.