CBI arrests man for cheating US citizens of over USD 7 million

The CBI arrested Ankit Satishchandra Pandey for allegedly defrauding US citizens of over USD 7 million through illegal call centres in Gujarat. The accused reportedly impersonated US federal officials and induced victims to withdraw funds and purchase gold.

New Delhi: Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has arrested an accused in a transnational cyber-financial fraud case who allegedly defrauded US nationals of over USD 7 million through illegal call centres in Gujarat in the past two years, officials said on Friday.

The agency arrested Ankit Satishchandra Pandey on Wednesday, who allegedly cheated US citizens by impersonating officers of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), US Attorney, Critical Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) and other federal agencies, falsely informing the victims through VoIP communications that their identities were used by someone to access child pornography through their computer systems, they said.

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“Thereafter, the accused persons induced the victims to withdraw their funds from the bank accounts, purchase gold and hand over the same to courier persons engaged by them in the US. Accordingly, the victims were induced and defrauded of more than USD 7.21 million,” CBI Spokesperson said in a statement.

The official said the CBI conducted extensive searches at Ahmedabad locations associated with the accused and seized incriminating electronic devices containing digital evidence.

“The accused who was instrumental in establishing and operating the illegal call centre has been arrested on September 23,” she said.