Kanpur Police bust ₹125 crore cyber fraud syndicate; 8 held including 5 bank staff

In a separate case, ₹2.5 crore routed through a Kanpur resident's account was traced, with ₹98 lakh frozen. The account holder was unaware of the transactions.

Fake GST firms and trust accounts were opened with insider help to bypass transaction limits, while funds were routed through multiple layers, including trust accounts and hawala channels.

Bank officials from private and small finance banks allegedly tipped off fraudsters about impending account freezes, enabling rapid withdrawals, sometimes ₹4-5 lakh per hour, before action could be taken.

Investigators described a fixed commission structure: 20% for intermediary trusts, 10% for handlers, and 70% passed on to the main fraudsters. A Karnataka-based trust also came under scanner, with nearly ₹30 crore routed through it.

The alleged kingpin, Rajveer Singh Yadav, a resident of Barra, is absconding. He is accused of arranging mule accounts and coordinating fund transfers; his last known location is near Chhattisgarh.

Police said the operation followed alerts from the National Cybercrime Reporting Portal. Barra police uncovered a well-organised network involved in cyber fraud, 'digital arrest' scams and routing illicit funds through fake firms and trust accounts. Eight members were arrested, including five bank officials; 24 fake GST firms, 60 mule accounts, 24 SIM cards and nine mobile phones were recovered. The probe linked the syndicate to at least 17 cases nationwide and to a ₹58 crore Navi Mumbai fraud reported about six months earlier, with ₹2.5 crore traced to a Kanpur-based bank account.

A separate Navi Mumbai case of a ₹58 crore 'digital arrest' fraud was reported about six months prior to the Kanpur bust, with ₹2.5 crore traced to a Kanpur-based bank account.