The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has busted a highly organized cyber fraud syndicate operating out of Pune and Mumbai, responsible for scamming U.S. citizens and amassing ₹3–4 crore each month. Raids and arrests in the coordinated operation have exposed a complex network of digital deception, money laundering, and cross-border crime that flourished under the guise of a legitimate call centre since January 2025.
The syndicate ran a covert call centre that impersonated officials from the U.S. Internal Revenue Service (IRS), U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), and even the Indian High Commission. Using spoofed VoIP calls, the operators would contact American citizens and threaten them with legal consequences under various pretexts. Victims, fearing prosecution or immigration trouble, were coerced into paying sums ranging from $500 to $3,000 (about ₹42,000–₹2,50,000) via gift cards or cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin.
Fraudulent call leads were acquired through vendors via WhatsApp and Signal, who also generated and distributed toll-free numbers that routed unsuspecting victims to the illegal call centre. Call centre staff sourced from across India operated out of multiple residential apartments in Pune, all managed under tight secrecy.
The illicit proceeds estimated at ₹4 crore monthly were laundered through mule bank accounts, cryptocurrencies, and hawala channels. Alarmingly, certain public and private bank officials are suspected to have helped the syndicate by facilitating the opening of fake accounts using forged KYC documents, circumventing RBI guidelines. Employees of the call centre were paid in cash, often routed from both the U.S. and domestic locations like Maharashtra and Gujarat via hawala operators.
Following a case registered by the CBI on July 24, 2025, multi-location raids were carried out across Pune and Mumbai. Three key members Amit Dube, Tarun Shenai, and Gonslaves Savio were arrested and produced before a special court, where they were remanded to police custody until July 30. Raids yielded 27 mobile phones, 17 laptops, unexplained cash worth over ₹11 lakh, around 150 grams of narcotics, and a cryptocurrency wallet containing ₹6.9 lakh, along with further incriminating digital evidence.
The CBI is continuing its investigation to track down additional conspirators, including U.S.-based collaborators who allegedly provided the victims’ personal information. The crackdown is seen as a warning to similar syndicates exploiting technology for financial crime, especially as India’s cybercrime landscape grows more complex.
The glaring role of certain bank officials in enabling the racket has sparked renewed calls for stringent enforcement of KYC and financial sector regulations. Law enforcement emphasizes that cross-border cooperation will be critical for successfully prosecuting and deterring cyber fraud targeting foreign nationals from Indian soil.
