Russian gaming platform's 'agents' arrested for cheating people of Rs 10 crore

The State cyber crime wing  (headquarters) arrested five men who posed as agents of a Russian online gaming platform and cheated several to the tune of about Rs 10 crore after wooing them to play games on a website. 

The so called agents circulated the links of the website that hosts a variety of games, including gambling on social media, and the website too had mentioned the accused's names in the website to make it look more authentic. 

"The Russian firm do not take money directly from the players but the money deposited by them would go to the bank accounts managed by the respective agents. They in turn would convert it into crypto currency and transfer them to the Russian firm and in return they would get tokens which they can get reimbursed at any shop for their purchase. The accused used laymen's bank accounts for the transactions after paying them Rs 10,000 to Rs 15,000 and each account was used for transactions upto Rs 4 lakh so that they do not come under scrutiny for tax evasion," said Superintendent Sibi Chakravarthy, whose team busted the gang. 

Earlier, Kallakurichi police arrested one Manikandan, who was also an agent of a gaming platform, after they grew suspicious of his activities since his wealth grew multiple times in a short span of times. The State cyber crime took up the case after it involved a foreign firm and arrested four more suspects identified as Sai Kumar, Sasi Kumar, Rajesh Kumar, Raj Kumar and Mohammed Asif. The gang operated from Shankar Nagar and Ambattur. Two laptops, one desktop, 10 mobile phones, 27 debit cards, 340 memory cards, Rs 1.20 lakh in cash and a car were seized from the gang. 

The official said that they would refer the case to the Enforcement Directorate as it involves money laundering. A hunt has been launched for the suspect who helped the gang to convert the cash into crypto currency. 

Police said that any online game would have been programmed in such a way that that players would lose their savings and warned them to be aware.

The victims cheated through online gaming platforms can report through Cyber Crime helpline No.155260 and be assured of taking action against them.