The Central Bureau of Investigation had detected a fraudulent call centre operating under the name ‘FirstIdea’ from the Noida Special Economic Zone. File
| Photo Credit: PTI
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) arrested four persons for allegedly running cyber fraud syndicates targeting foreign nationals.
The agency arrested Arjun Prakash, wanted in connection with a transnational cyber fraud syndicate busted in May. Acting in coordination with the U.S.’ Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the U.K.’s National Crime Agency, and Microsoft Corporation, the CBI had detected a fraudulent call centre operating under the name ‘FirstIdea’ from the Noida Special Economic Zone.
“The call centre was engaged in a sophisticated tech-support scam defrauding citizens in the United Kingdom, Australia and European Union countries. The raids led to the seizure of incriminating digital infrastructure and the arrest of a key accused,” it said, adding that the alleged beneficiary of the operations, Mr. Prakash, had been absconding.
On Monday (August 25, 2025), the accused was intercepted at the Indira Gandhi International Airport in Delhi with the help of immigration officials when he was attempting to board a flight to Kathmandu and arrested.
In another case, the agency arrested Jigar Ahmed, Yash Khurana and Inder Jeet Singh Bali for running a “virtual asset supported cybercrime network” targeting U.S. nationals since 2023. The operation was executed in close coordination with the FBI.
The accused gained unauthorised remote access to the computer systems and bank accounts of the victims. Under the pretext of offering tech support, they claimed that the bank accounts had been compromised and funds were at risk. They manipulated the victims into transferring $40 million to cryptocurrency wallets.
The CBI registered the case on August 18 and conducted searches at multiple locations. It unearthed an illegal call centre being operated under the name of ‘Digikaps The Future of Digital’ from Amritsar where 34 persons were working. During the search, 85 hard disks, 16 laptops and 44 mobile phones were seized.
The agency carried out searches on August 20 in Amritsar and Delhi, following which the three accused were arrested, and ₹54 lakh in cash, eight electronic devices, and “incriminating documents” were seized.
The arrests have been made as part of the CBI’s ongoing Operation Chakra against cyber fraud syndicates.
Published – August 25, 2025 10:54 pm IST
