ED arrests a Delhi man for duping US citizen worth Rs. 3.3 crores

New Delhi, July 25

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) arrested a man from Delhi for duping a US woman of Rs 3.3 crores. 

The accused has been identified as Lakshay Vij, a cryptocurrency handler from Delhi. He directed the money transfers, mainly using WhatsApp groups.

The case was first registered by Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) against several individuals accused of cheating a US citizen.

The accused allegedly contacted the victim, a woman from the United States, and convinced her to move her investments from a bank account to a cryptocurrency account, claiming her current account was unsafe. Following that, the accused took unauthorised access to her computer, set up a cryptocurrency account in her name, and persuaded her to transfer USD 400,000 to this account. When the victim later checked, she found her funds were gone.

The ED's investigation revealed that the stolen money was moved through various cryptocurrency wallets and eventually converted into Indian currency. This money was then distributed among multiple bank accounts held by dummy entities and individuals through payment aggregators.

The federal probe agency had conducted search operations and collected digital evidence related to the case in June. The investigators also recorded statements from people whose wallets were used in the transactions were also recorded.