Indian police bust cryptocurrency scams near Assam-Bangladesh border
The Assam Police have uncovered multiple cryptocurrency scams run by cybercriminals from villages near the Assam-Bangladesh border.
Within three days, police in the South Salmara-Mankachar district of western Assam arrested five individuals linked to fraudulent cryptocurrency schemes. These schemes, known as RSN Crypto Currency Token and Crypto TLC 2.0, promised investors monthly returns of up to 6% through AI-powered Forex trading.
Interrogation of the accused revealed that over 1 lakh people had invested more than ₹220 crore in these multi-level scams.
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According to the police, the accused used digital payment platforms like PhonePe, Paytm, and Binance—a Chinese cryptocurrency exchange for Bitcoins, Ethereum, and Altcoins—to convert Indian rupees into U.S. dollar tokens before transferring the funds to unidentified international entities.
On March 4, a team led by sub-inspector Jayanta Rajkhowa of the South Salmara police station arrested 26-year-old Akheruzzaman Ahmed and 27-year-old Nur Alom Ahmed from Tumni Simlakandi village.
"Apart from seizing multiple mobile phones, laptops, and crypto scheme documents, we traced their links to Dubai-based Lavish Chaudhury, who was previously accused in a ₹500 crore fraud case in Himachal Pradesh. He had also met with the accused and their team members at a resort in Guwahati," said a police officer involved in the investigation.
I4C Assistance
"The Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C) under the Ministry of Home Affairs is assisting us in tracking the money flow and identifying other suspects," the officer added.
Earlier, on 1 March, another police team arrested Asadul Islam, 25, Hashanur Zaman, 28, and Kobad Ali Mollah, 28, from different areas of the South Salmara-Mankachar district for their involvement in a cryptocurrency scam.
"The accused deceived over 2,000 people in the district and parts of neighboring Meghalaya, convincing them to invest a minimum of ₹50,000 in fake 'RSN' crypto tokens. They were also found renting out their bank accounts to cybercriminals in other parts of the country for ₹1,000-2,000 per month," the officer stated.
