A man originally from Pune has been arrested for allegedly cheating a woman out of over ₹12 lakh by luring her with promises of high returns on cryptocurrency investments, the Delhi Police said on Friday.
The accused, identified as Rugved Ashwin Dengle, a resident of Kasba Peth in Pune, operated mule accounts to receive the defrauded money, which was later withdrawn or converted into cryptocurrency.
“On May 20, a woman filed a complaint alleging that she was duped of ₹12.85 lakh by a man posing as a financial advisor on social media,” a senior police officer said.
According to the victim’s statement, the accused had promised her lucrative returns on cryptocurrency investments and convinced her to transfer money to multiple bank accounts.
Vichitra Veer, Deputy Commissioner of Police (West), said, “The victim made 29 transactions into various bank accounts, trusting the fraudster’s assurances.”
However, when she tried to withdraw her supposed profits, she was denied access. This raised her suspicions, prompting her to approach the police.
Based on the details she provided, a case was registered and a thorough investigation was launched.
During the inquiry, police traced one of the beneficiary accounts to Pune, which had recorded unusually high transactional activity over a short period.
A raid was subsequently conducted, and Dengle was apprehended. He was later brought to Delhi and formally arrested.
Police recovered 14 ATM cards, 15 chequebooks, six bank passbooks, four smartphones, and ₹3.45 lakh in cash from his possession.
During sustained interrogation, Dengle revealed that he was previously involved in local film production but incurred losses. He then got involved with cybercriminals through social media.
“He admitted to arranging mule bank accounts, receiving the cheated money in exchange for USDT (a cryptocurrency), and routing the funds through multiple accounts before withdrawing them,” the officer added.
Further investigation is underway to identify his accomplices and trace the remaining defrauded amount.