Cyberabad police busts transnational crypto scam impersonating Morgan Stanley; Andhra youth arrested

The arrested individual has been identified as 22-year-old Pathi Manikanta from Y.S.R Kadapa district, Andhra Pradesh. He is involved in crypto and mule account trading and maintained contact with crypto traders, agents, and Chinese nationals. Meanwhile, the suspect’s associates from Haryana are on the run, and efforts are underway to apprehend them.

Hyderabad: Telegram and WhatsApp based transnational cybercrime involving cryptocurrency investment by impersonating Morgan Stanley was busted by Cyberabad Cybercrime police and a youth from Andhra Pradesh was arrested.

The arrested person was identified as Pathi Manikanta (22) from Y.S.R Kadapa district, Andhra Pradesh. He is a crypto and mule account trader, who was in touch with crypto traders and agents and Chinese Nationals. Allies of the suspects from Haryana are absconding and efforts are being made for the arrest.

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The fraud was busted based on complaint from a software engineer in August 2024, regarding a crypto investment scheme impersonating Morgan Stanley. He had lost about Rs 52.3 lakh.

Cybercrime police said the victim was contacted via Telegram and WhatsApp using UK based numbers promising 20 per cent daily returns on investment for a crypto investment scheme.

“Criminals were impersonating Morgan Stanley to gain the victim’s confidence, who kept on investing in a fraud crypto scheme for around a month. The criminal gangs were using sophisticated layering techniques to launder crime proceeds across multiple crypto platforms including Binance, Kucoin, Trust Wallet, ” police said.
Transnational Crime Linkages:

Owing to complex layering on blockchain network and transnational nature of crime, a team of tech-savvy police personnel and crypto experts was formed.

Technical investigation and interrogation of the accused has revealed connections to China, Hong Kong and the United Kingdom.

“The suspect was in constant touch with other Chinese criminal groups over Telegram for purchase and supply of mule bank accounts on commission basis, ” an official said.

UDHYAM Registration certificates were also recovered from phone which are suspected to be used for opening mule accounts in the banks

Recovery:
With the order of the courts, Binance has successfully seized the stolen assets. To expedite the recovery of funds to the victim’s account assistance from Indian Cybercrime Coordination Centre (I4C), MHA’s cryptocurrency investigation assistance team and FIU-Ind will be taken.

Advisory to Citizens:
1. Do not invest in schemes which are too good to be true.
2. Telegram / WhatsApp based investment schemes may be fake. Always verify the credentials of the company ‘offline’ before proceeding with investment.
3. Investment in cryptocurrency may be risky owing to its decentralized nature. Invest at your own risk.
4. Call 1930 or report cybercrime on www.cybercrime.gov.in in case of any fraud.
5. Citizens are advised to be very cautious before investing in crypto currency or transferring money through private wallets as
6. Cryptocurrency transactions does not have authorized regulatory.