How three men pulled off ₹250 crore ‘Money Heist’ fraud for Chinese handlers
The arrested men named themselves after key characters from the Netflix series Money Heist. They allegedly arranged mule bank accounts for Chinese handlers.
Three members of an international crime ring, inspired by the Netflix series Money Heist, have been arrested for duping several people across the country of nearly ₹250 crore through fake online trading and investment schemes.
The crime ring was operated by Chinese nationals, and the arrested members got their cut of the fraud through hawala channels.
The arrested suspects were identified as Arpit Mishra, 25, a lawyer from Jaipur, Rajasthan; Prabhat Vajpayee, 22, a postgraduate in MCA from Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh; and Mohammad Abbas Khan, 24, from Imphal East, Manipur.
The Money Heist modus operandi
The arrested men named themselves after key characters from the Netflix series Money Heist. They allegedly arranged mule bank accounts for their Chinese handlers to receive cheated money, which was routed through multiple accounts before being converted into cryptocurrency.
“Their main job was to arrange mule accounts and transfer cheated money,” said an investigating officer, who requested anonymity.
“Mishra’s interrogation revealed he was in direct contact with his handlers in China. Vajpayee and Khan lured poor people, kept them in hotels, and collected their financial credentials and OTPs, which were shared with the main fraudsters in China and Cambodia,” the officer added.
According to the investigators, the accused posed as representatives of a reputed financial services firm and added people to a WhatsApp group offering stock tips. The fraudsters convinced the victims to invest in a ‘Direct Market Account’. Later, they froze the funds and demanded more money under the threat of forfeiture.
The cops said that the three, along with two absconding accomplices, created a WhatsApp group to communicate securely and conceal their identities from law enforcement.
“Mishra used the screen name “Professor”, while Vajpayee and Khan took the names ‘Amanda’ and ‘Denver’. Another yet-to-be-identified and absconding member used the name “Berlin” in the group.
Investigators stated that the accused received cash commissions through hawala channels.
Deputy commissioner of police (northeast) Ashish Mishra said the arrests followed an investigation into a case of extortion and cyber cheating filed by Rohit, a 32-year-old Delhi government employee from Gokalpuri, who was duped of ₹21.77 lakh through a fake trading scheme.
How did the police crack the case?
After receiving the complaint, the police initiated an investigation and traced the phone locations of the accused to Noida Sector 49, where Prabhat Vajpayee and Mohammad Abbas Khan were subsequently arrested on October 9. The cops recovered a whopping 11 phones, 17 SIM cards, 32 debit cards, and other incriminating items.
Arpit Mishra was later arrested in Siliguri, West Bengal, on October 26, with three mobile phones and SIM cards recovered from him.
