India CBI Busts Transnational Cybercrime Ring, Seizes $327K in Crypto

India’s Central Bureau of Investigation has arrested a Delhi man and seized over $327,000 (₹2.8 crore) worth of crypto after busting a transnational cybercrime operation that targeted victims in the United States and Canada.

Rahul Arora was arrested in New Delhi during coordinated raids at three locations across India on Tuesday, with investigators uncovering sophisticated tools used to impersonate government officials and tech support representatives to defraud overseas victims.

“Acting on actionable intelligence developed during the investigation, CBI conducted these searches and uncovered incriminating evidence busting the operation of a group engaged in transnational cyber fraud,” the CBI said in a press release issued Wednesday.

The bust points to how India-based cybercrime syndicates exploit jurisdictional gaps to target foreign nationals, prompting increased international law enforcement cooperation amid growing cross-border digital crime challenges.

The bureau has seized international calling devices, caller ID spoofing software, lead generation tools based on social engineering tactics, and voice recordings alongside the crypto haul. The agency also recovered $26,400 (₹22 lakh) in unaccounted cash.

Chakra-V is a multi-agency campaign to combat cybercrime. It involves state cyber cells, the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C), and international partners, including Interpol and the FBI.

The initiative focuses on digital forensics, virtual digital asset seizures, and tracking dark web activities.

“The agency has also put in place necessary systems for the management of such assets [crypto] as per legal provisions,” officials said.

Arora has been produced before a Special CBI Court as investigations continue.

“I hope this isn’t understood to be another ‘cryptocurrency’ scam by the general public and the government,” Subha Chugh, a Web3 lawyer, told Decrypt. “Just because the alleged criminal parked funds in cryptocurrency doesn’t mean the scam involved cryptocurrency or was possible through cryptocurrency. If the perpetrator had purchased land, would we be calling it a real estate scam?”

Chung noted authorities should be “well-versed in how to handle virtual assets” and “actively work with industry stakeholders to ensure specialists are involved in cases like these.”

“CBI has developed in-house capabilities for handling and seizure of Virtual Digital Assets (VDAs) as part of its technology-driven approach for combating cybercrime,” the press release said.

“The proper storage and handling of assets that lack a legal categorisation at the present moment is undoubtedly tricky,” the expert said regarding the claimed capabilities.

Arora’s arrest shows the CBI’s expanding international cybercrime capabilities, built through high-profile cases including the ongoing $800 million (₹6,600 crore) GainBitcoin Ponzi scheme investigation.

In February, CBI conducted raids across 60 locations in the GainBitcoin case, leading to the seizure of crypto worth $2.9 million (₹23.94 crore).

Edited by Stacy Elliott.