Three arrested for converting cyberfraud proceeds into US dollars

MADURAI: The Madurai district police have busted a suspected ‘cash-out’ racket allegedly involved in converting money obtained through cyberfraud into US dollars and transferring it to cybercriminals.

Three people have been arrested in connection with the case on Tuesday. It is suspected they operated on behalf of cybercriminals and made use of money mules or bank accounts of unsuspecting people to withdraw money allegedly phished off by cybercriminals from victims.

The arrested were Paraskhan (23), Habib Mohammed (21) and Mohammed Mubarak (23). The cybercrime police arrested them after personnel from the Nagamalai Pudukottai police station intercepted them during a patrol on Monday.

Police seized 26 bank passbooks, 18 mobile phones, 77 ATM cards, 18 cheque books and 60 SIM cards from the trio. The large number of banking and telecom-related documents led police to suspect that multiple bank accounts and mobile connections were being used to facilitate cyberfraud transactions.

According to police, Paraskhan, who had completed a Visual Communication course and was unemployed, allegedly joined the racket in search of quick money. He is suspected of procuring bank accounts belonging to several people and using them to receive and transfer money obtained by cyberfraud.

The accused allegedly converted the withdrawn cash into US dollars and transferred the money. Police said the trio received a commission of Rs 6,300 for every Rs 1 lakh converted into $1,000.

The three allegedly rented a house in Nagamalai Pudukottai and operated the network from there. Police said they had earned nearly Rs 10 lakh in commissions over the past year, which they allegedly shared among themselves and spent.

Police warned that those renting out bank accounts or providing SIM cards for commissions, as well as those involved in converting and transferring proceeds of cyber fraud, would face stringent action. Victims of financial cyberfraud can contact the national cybercrime helpline at 1930 immediately or file a complaint through cybercrime.gov.in.

(A cash-out racket or online laundering racket is an organised financial crime network that quickly converts illegally obtained funds — such as cyberfraud proceeds, scammed money, or stolen assets— into withdrawable cash or hard-to-trace assets.)