Amaravati: The Andhra Pradesh CID has busted a major transnational cryptocurrency investment fraud involving nearly Rs 15 crore, allegedly perpetrated against a woman from Tenali in Guntur district, and secured a court order for the return of the defrauded assets, officials said on Wednesday. The CID described it as the first time it had busted such a fraud.
According to police, the victim was lured into investing in cryptocurrency with promises of high returns. The investigation revealed that the proceeds were routed through multiple cryptocurrency wallets and international platforms to conceal their origin and movement.
The victim initially transferred funds from her bank accounts to 13 non-custodial cryptocurrency wallets, including one on Robinhood and 12 on Onchain. On the instructions of the accused, she subsequently transferred the cryptocurrency to the fraudulent investment platforms Honeycombapi.org and Alibarbit.bit, believing the investments to be genuine.
A total of 27 cryptocurrency transactions involving Bitcoin, Solana and Dogecoin, amounting to approximately USD 1.5 million, were made to these platforms. The funds were then routed through multiple layers and mule accounts before reaching Gate Global Corporation, a cryptocurrency exchange based in the Cayman Islands.
Through blockchain transaction analysis and international coordination, the CID traced 15 Bitcoin transactions to four accounts on the Gate.io exchange linked to the organised crime syndicate. The identified assets were frozen through judicial proceedings.
The investigation, carried out with technical assistance and coordination from the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C) under the Union Home Ministry, led to the identification of eight accused, the press note said. Two of them are from Hyderabad, two from Maharashtra, two from China, and one each from Malaysia and Portugal. A charge sheet has been filed against the organised crime syndicate.
The VI Additional Junior Civil Judge-cum-Special Court for CID Cases in Guntur issued a Return of Property Order dated October 30, 2026, directing Gate Global Corporation to convert the cryptocurrency assets held in the four identified accounts into USDT at the prevailing market value and transfer the entire amount to the victim's designated wallet, the release said.
USDT is a stablecoin, a cryptocurrency designed to maintain a value equivalent to one US dollar. Tether, the company that issues it, sells the tokens in exchange for dollars, holds the funds in reserves and promises to redeem each token for one dollar.
The CID has advised the public to exercise caution while investing in cryptocurrency and online investment schemes, and warned against platforms promising guaranteed or unusually high returns.
