Woman, a 20-year-old job-seeker, thought she was filing a complaint; turns out she was laundering crores for a Rs 211-crore gambling racket run from Armenia
The accused, Abhishek Pandey, Akash Vishwakarma in police custody. Pic/By Special Arrangement
What started as a seemingly routine fraud complaint by a 20-year-old job-seeker in Mumbai’s Malwani has unravelled one of India’s most sophisticated and sprawling cybercrime networks. The complainant, who received a shocking Rs 3.5 crore tax notice for companies she had never heard of, turned out to be an unsuspecting pawn in a digital laundering syndicate that used stolen identities, fake firms, and encrypted messaging apps to move over Rs 211 crore.
Exclusive documents and testimony accessed by mid-day reveal how the racket — allegedly operated by Indian nationals from Armenia — lured young job-seekers, exploited their personal documents to open mule bank accounts, and funnelled illicit funds through the banned gambling platform.
Malwani police busted a cyber-fraud racket where two men, Abhishek Pandey and Akash Vishwakarma, duped job seekers by collecting their documents under the pretext of offering jobs, then used those to set up fake companies and open bank accounts for laundering scam money. The duo was arrested on April 21.
The woman’s testimony, obtained by mid-day, offers chilling insights into how digital fraud is being industrialised through fake jobs, stolen identities, and encrypted messaging apps — all hidden in plain sight. In an exclusive interview with mid-day, the complainant — who unknowingly became part of a massive financial fraud — broke her silence, exposing the inner workings of a call centre-based laundering racket.
From CV to cybercrime
The woman said she was recruited through a referral to a call centre operating out of Knox Plaza in Malad. “I had sent my CV and was interviewed by three men — Abhishek Pandey, Akash Vishwakarma, and a man calling himself ‘James Bond’ alias Naidu,” she recalled. “They offered me Rs 15,000 per month. A bank representative later came to the office, took my documents and signatures to open a salary account.”
Initially working from the office, she eventually shifted to a work-from-home setup for about a year, six months of which were entirely remote. “My duty hours were from 9 am to 7 pm. Each day, I received a list of bank account numbers and names. Our instructions came via the Signal app, telling us which credentials to use and where to transfer the funds,” she said. “We were each moving over Rs 10 lakh a day. More than 100 people — mostly women — worked in three shifts around the clock.”
Secret spot checks
Every three months, she was summoned to a location — sometimes near Goregaon station, other times near the Infinity Mall. “There, a woman would check my phone against a list, delete any unfamiliar numbers and OTPs, then return it,” she said. This process, she later learned, was routine for all employees.
All work instructions came through the secure messaging app, Signal. Along with Pandey, Vishwakarma, and “James Bond,” the same unidentified woman issued shift assignments.
Tax shock
Her nightmare began in March 2025, when she received a tax notice for Rs 3.5 crore. “It mentioned two companies — Dora Solution and Dora Enterprises — both registered in my name. I had never heard of them. The notice included details of transactions worth crores,” she said.
When she contacted the handlers, they initially promised help but soon cut all contact. She was removed from the Signal group, and the office shut down. Realising she had been duped, she sought legal help and filed a police complaint. She later discovered the operation’s ringleader was based in Armenia, where many of her former co-workers had already relocated.
Armenia at the helm
A woman named Nahida, of Indian origin and now in Armenia, is believed to be a key figure in the scam. Pandey, Vishwakarma, and “James Bond” handled Indian operations.
After her complaint, the woman and other former employees informed their team leaders. But instead of helping, they were told to relocate to Armenia, an offer many accepted. She refused. It became clear to her that job-seekers’ documents were being misused to open bank accounts for laundering — just as had happened in her case.
Rs 211 crore digital drain
According to Advocate Rafiq Gori, representing the victim, Malwani police arrested two accused and seized four laptops, multiple pen drives, and dozens of mobile phones. “These devices contained data on thousands of bank accounts and former employees, many now in Armenia,” Gori said.
The Income Tax Department flagged 1008 mule accounts — 653 individual and 375 merchant. These accounts saw credits worth Rs 211 crore (Rs 2,11,17,06,839) and debits of Rs 209 crore (Rs 2,09,84,32,279), with a closing balance of Rs 1.33 crore.
The racket routed funds through illegal gambling sites banned in India under the Information Technology (IT) Act. Despite a government ban on 174 gambling apps, the platform continued operations via alternate URLs.
The syndicate laundered money through betting on sports such as cricket, kabaddi, volleyball, hockey, and even ice hockey, along with casino-style games and live bets hosted on the platform.
Mule account playbook
The scam’s architecture relied on “mule accounts” — many opened using real documents of unaware job seekers. Daily, small rounded deposits were credited and drained in bulk via interconnected accounts.
As of March 24, 2025, over 1000 mule accounts tied to the platform had been identified. None of the individuals had any legal or business relationship with the platform confirming that most were used as pawns.
Demand for high-level probe
During interrogation, police uncovered leads about the elusive “James Bond,” who remains at large. Advocate Gori emphasised that this could be one of India’s biggest cyber fraud rackets. He urged that the case be transferred from Malwani cyber police to a specialised agency like the Mumbai Crime Branch.
“The police have the accused’s phone numbers, KYC, and mobile records. This data must be used to track everyone involved — especially those abroad,” said Gori. “Lookout notices must be issued.”
He added, “The racket is still active. They continue to exploit unemployed youth, demanding five bank accounts per recruit, which are then used for high-volume cyber fraud.” Gori concluded with a warning: “The government must act now. This is not just a local scam — this is a cross-border cyber laundering machine exploiting India’s digital loopholes.”
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