CBI busts cybercrime gang operating from Pune apartments; three arrested

New Delhi: The CBI has arrested three members of a sophisticated cybercrime syndicate that allegedly defrauded foreign nationals, primarily US citizens, minting around Rs 3-4 crore through phishing calls and VoIP spoofing, officials said on Friday.

In a sweeping crackdown which began on Thursday and continued on Friday, the agency raided seven locations in Pune and Mumbai.

Apart from digital devices, the sleuths also seized over 150 grams of suspected narcotics, they said.

Incriminating digital evidence from 27 mobile phones and 17 laptops, as well as Rs 1.60 lakh in unexplained cash, was also recovered during the bust, they said.

The agency arrested Amit Dube, Tarun Shenai and Gonsalves Savio, who were presented before a special CBI court in Mumbai, which remanded them to the agency's custody till July 30 for further interrogation regarding their operations and co-accused.

Scrutiny of the mobile phone of the accused has revealed that he has cryptocurrency worth Rs 6.94 lakh in his wallet. During the search at the residence of another accused, unexplained cash of Rs 9.60 lakh was recovered," the agency said in a statement.

The syndicate had been operating a legal call centre out of various apartments in Pune since January 2025, targeting victims abroad through phishing calls and VoIP spoofing.

"The call centre workers are paid in cash routed via hawala channels from both the US and domestic locations, including Maharashtra and Gujarat. These workers were housed in multiple residential flats across Pune," the spokesperson said.

These accused persons were using caller services found on social media platforms like Signal and WhatsApp in their operations, it said.

The operators were using vendors on WhatsApp and Signal to acquire contact leads illegally and contacted victims through toll-free numbers generated and disseminated by these vendors, eventually connecting them to the fraudulent call centre.

Masquerading as officials from the U.S. Internal Revenue Service (IRS), US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), and even the Indian diplomatic missions, the scamsters coerced victims into transferring funds ranging from USD 500 to USD 3,000 through gift cards and cryptocurrency, using the threat of legal consequences.

"It was also revealed that these operations are supported by certain unknown public and private sector bank officials, who facilitate the opening and operation of fake accounts using forged KYC documents, violating established RBI and institutional guidelines," the statement said.

Preliminary findings suggest that the scam was abetted by unidentified officials of the public and private sector banks who facilitated the opening of fake accounts using forged Know Your Customer (KYC) documents, in blatant violation of RBI regulations.

"It has been revealed that the illegally earned proceeds, estimated to be Rs 3-4 crores monthly, are being laundered via mule accounts, cryptocurrency, and hawala routes," the statement said.