New Delhi, Feb 18 (PTI) The CBI busted a cybercrime racket with the arrest of a man from Siliguri, West Bengal, who was allegedly involved in targeting German citizens since 2021 and swindling their money, an official said on Tuesday.

The accused, Rahul Shaw, was arrested based on input from the German authorities, the officials said.

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The gang was allegedly targeting German nationals by gaining unauthorised remote access to the victims' computer systems and bank accounts, under the pretext of offering tech support services, the officials added.

The CBI has arrested a cybercriminal who was part of a gang that allegedly targeted German nationals since 2021 by gaining unauthorized remote access to the victims' computer systems and bank accounts under the pretext of offering tech support services, an official said.

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The group is believed to have swindled over EUR 646,000 from German citizens during 2021-22, which they channelled through cryptocurrency wallets, the CBI alleged.

"Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), as part of the ongoing Operation CHAKRA-IV, has successfully dismantled a sophisticated virtual asset-supported cybercrime network that has been targeting German nationals since 2021. This operation was executed in close coordination with the German authorities," the CBI spokesperson said in a statement.

The International Operations Division of the CBI had filed an FIR recently against Rahul Shaw, Shubham Sharma, Rajeev Budhiraja and unknown others under Section 120-B (criminal conspiracy) read with Section 420 (cheating), among others of the Indian Penal Code, as well as under the provisions of the Information Technology Act, 2000, officials said.

The gang members falsely informed the victims that their bank accounts had been compromised.

"Claiming that their funds were at risk, the accused allegedly manipulated the victims into transferring EUR 646,032 to cryptocurrency wallets controlled by them," the agency statement said.

The CBI carried out a massive search operation in Delhi, Kolkata, and Siliguri from February 14 to February 17, the officials said.

The searches revealed that the transnational network was channelling the proceeds of crime through virtual assets, they said.

"CBI has arrested Rahul Shaw from Siliguri, a key accused in the case, and he is being produced before the Ld. Court of the Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate-06, Rouse Avenue District Courts, New Delhi," the statement said.

The CBI has seized seven mobile phones, one laptop, and incriminating documents related to the crime during searches at Shaw's residence.

"CBI also uncovered an illegal call centre being operated by the accused Rahul Shaw and other accused persons at Webel IT Park, Matigara, Darjeeling, West Bengal, and dismantled it," the agency said.

The agency seized 24 hard disks of computer systems used by the accused, containing incriminating digital evidence, recovered from the illegal call centre in Darjeeling.

The CBI had initiated Operation Chakra-IV to dismantle an organized cyber-enabled financial crime network through a globally coordinated law enforcement response, leveraging Interpol channels, the statement said.

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