Two held for using Chinese loan apps to launder Rs 50 crore in crypto | Lucknow News
Lucknow: Balrampur police unearthed an inter-state gang involved in defrauding people through illegal Chinese loan applications and laundering crores of rupees via cryptocurrency. Two accused were arrested from Dibua bridge in the Lalia police station area, police said on Monday. Those arrested were identified as Golu Kumar and Bhushan Kumar Chaudhary. Superintendent of police, Balrampur, Vikash Kumar said that the accused were part of a larger network that used unauthorised Chinese loan apps like Udhar Loan, Rupee Factory, Quick Loan and Credit Bee to trap people.“Victims were lured into downloading apps from the Play Store, submitting Aadhaar, PAN, bank details and selfies. Small loan amounts (eg Rs1,200) were transferred instantly, but the apps secretly accessed personal data without consent. Recovery agents then harassed borrowers with threats, abuses and obscene messages, extorting higher sums (Rs2,000 or more within a week) through mule bank accounts,” he said.Kumar added that once Rs1 lakh was accumulated daily, the funds were withdrawn in cash, deposited via Cash Deposit Machines (CDMs) and converted into cryptocurrency (USDT) through Binance exchange accounts. Police revealed that so far, transactions worth 56,60,311.94 USDT, equivalent to Rs50.67 crore, were routed to foreign handlers. “During interrogation, Golu admitted running a cybercafé/CSC centre in Bihar. He said he was recruited two years ago by fraudsters who taught him how to convert fraudulent earnings into USDT via Binance. Initially operating through his personal Binance ID, he later onboarded his father and associates, creating multiple IDs to facilitate large-scale laundering,” Kumar added.
