Surat: Cybercrime police arrested a 27-year-old man from Porbandar for allegedly providing bank accounts to an international cyberfraud network and converting money obtained through crime into the stablecoin USDT and transferring it to cryptocurrency wallets.The accused, Divyesh Meghnathi, was arrested after a technical investigation and the court remanded him in police custody for six days.According to police, Meghnathi procured bank accounts from people on commission basis and shared their details with absconding gang members based in Dubai. Cyberfraud proceeds were deposited into these accounts. The accused and others allegedly withdrew the money through ATMs or cheques, retaining a 13% commission.The rest of the money was used to buy USDT from different individuals. The cryptocurrency was subsequently transferred to various wallets as instructed by the Dubai-based gang members.The case came to light after cybercriminals used proceeds of online cheating to buy gold rings from a jewellery shop. A case was registered in that matter.During the investigation, police got details of 79 bank accounts from the mobile phone of the man arrested. Checks revealed 53 cybercrime complaints linked to these accounts across 18 states and Union territories.The complaints included nine from Gujarat, seven from UP, six from Tamil Nadu and five from Telangana, besides cases registered in several other states. Police said the complaints indicated online fraud of around Rs 11.03 crore.Police are investigating the role of other members of the network, including those allegedly operating from Dubai.
