<p>The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) on Saturday said it had busted a Rs 290-crore hawala-linked money-laundering racket masterminded by a Kerala businessman at the behest of a few Chinese nationals. </p>.<p>A total of 10 people, including two Chinese nationals and as many Tibetans, have been arrested, said the CID whose cybercrime wing headed by M D Sharath, Superintendent of Police (Cyber Crime), busted the racket. The kingpin, identified as Anas Ahmed, remains at large, the CID added. </p>.<p>According to the CID, Ahmed offered financial schemes online and on apps, promising huge returns. He used social media to attract customers with the assurance of making quick money in a short period. Investors were asked to open bank accounts, which were then used for fraudulent dealings. </p>.<p><strong>Shell companies </strong></p>.<p>The arrested suspects, who include directors of shell companies set up by the Chinese, initially paid the investors but as more and more of them joined in through the word-of-mouth publicity, the gang closed the “business” and escaped overnight. By that time, they had raked in huge money from the investors. </p>.<p>The CID said that the shell<br />companies were opened with the specific aim of laundering the ill-gotten proceeds. </p>.<p>The scam came to light when a Bengaluru-based payment gateway filed a police complaint, saying the suspects had availed themselves of its services by claiming that they were running businesses like gaming, social and e-commerce. </p>.<p><strong>‘Powerbank’ app</strong></p>.<p>According to the payment gateway’s complaint, the gang had deviated from their original category of registered business and started routing their transactions to collect payments from a different business named ‘Powerbank’, on an app listed on Google Play Store. </p>.<p>Through customer complaints, the company got to know that the public had invested amounts in the Powerbank app to earn some percentage of daily and weekly interest.</p>.<p>While the investors were paid initially, they later got neither the interest nor the principal. </p>.<p>Based on the complaint, the cybercrime police arrested two Chinese nationals, two Tibetans and six others from various parts of India, including Delhi, Surat and Bengaluru, who were acting as directors of the companies, according to the CID statement.</p>
<p>The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) on Saturday said it had busted a Rs 290-crore hawala-linked money-laundering racket masterminded by a Kerala businessman at the behest of a few Chinese nationals. </p>.<p>A total of 10 people, including two Chinese nationals and as many Tibetans, have been arrested, said the CID whose cybercrime wing headed by M D Sharath, Superintendent of Police (Cyber Crime), busted the racket. The kingpin, identified as Anas Ahmed, remains at large, the CID added. </p>.<p>According to the CID, Ahmed offered financial schemes online and on apps, promising huge returns. He used social media to attract customers with the assurance of making quick money in a short period. Investors were asked to open bank accounts, which were then used for fraudulent dealings. </p>.<p><strong>Shell companies </strong></p>.<p>The arrested suspects, who include directors of shell companies set up by the Chinese, initially paid the investors but as more and more of them joined in through the word-of-mouth publicity, the gang closed the “business” and escaped overnight. By that time, they had raked in huge money from the investors. </p>.<p>The CID said that the shell<br />companies were opened with the specific aim of laundering the ill-gotten proceeds. </p>.<p>The scam came to light when a Bengaluru-based payment gateway filed a police complaint, saying the suspects had availed themselves of its services by claiming that they were running businesses like gaming, social and e-commerce. </p>.<p><strong>‘Powerbank’ app</strong></p>.<p>According to the payment gateway’s complaint, the gang had deviated from their original category of registered business and started routing their transactions to collect payments from a different business named ‘Powerbank’, on an app listed on Google Play Store. </p>.<p>Through customer complaints, the company got to know that the public had invested amounts in the Powerbank app to earn some percentage of daily and weekly interest.</p>.<p>While the investors were paid initially, they later got neither the interest nor the principal. </p>.<p>Based on the complaint, the cybercrime police arrested two Chinese nationals, two Tibetans and six others from various parts of India, including Delhi, Surat and Bengaluru, who were acting as directors of the companies, according to the CID statement.</p>