Bhopal: In a major breakthrough, Bhopal’s Cyber Crime Branch arrested two cyber fraudsters—Vishal and Yashpal Bhatt—from Bhilwara, Rajasthan, for their involvement in a Rs 68.49 lakh digital fraud. This takes the total number of arrests in the case to ten.
The accused were part of a network that sold over 150 Indian bank accounts to international cyber scammers via Telegram. They procured these accounts using fake documents and rented them out, earning 10–15% of the fraudulent transaction amount in cryptocurrency (USDT). The scam has seen transactions worth crores through these accounts over the past four years.
The case originated from a complaint in which the victim was digitally “arrested” by fraudsters impersonating FedEx staff and Mumbai Crime Branch officials via Skype. Under the pretense of seizing an MDMA drug parcel, they coerced the victim into transferring Rs 68.49 lakh on false charges of money laundering.
During the investigation, a complex racket was uncovered. Rajendra Meena, using fake documents, opened a bank account and sold it for Rs 1.5 lakh. This account changed hands through multiple intermediaries, ultimately reaching Vishal and Yashpal Bhatt, who sold it on Telegram to cyber criminals abroad.
Following detailed technical surveillance, the cyber team arrested the Bhatt brothers and recovered mobile phones and SIM cards used in the crime. Eight other individuals from Rajasthan, Kerala, and Odisha had already been arrested in connection with the scam.
