Madhya Pradesh BJP leader arrested in Rs 21 crore cyber fraud case, Police probe wider network

A top BJP leader and member of the district panchayat in Madhya Pradesh has been arrested for allegedly defrauding people through an online scam of Rs 21.05 crore in the state’s biggest cyber crime case. Several investigators traced a portion of the defrauded amount of money to Malviya’s bank account, leading to the arrests of Jagdish Malviya, alias Jagdish Fauji, by the State Cyber Cell.

The case has arisen after the chartered accountant Ashok Vijayvargiya of Gwalior, had his Rs 21.05 crore allegedly swindled in a cryptocurrency investment scam. Investigators say Vijayvargiya was approached through a message sent with what appears to be the message app WhatsApp by a woman claiming to be “Divya”: She was asked to invest in cryptocurrency called USDT for promising good returns on investment.

The victim initially received returns of approximately Rs 1.88 lakh that made him confident before the asset worth crores of rupees was transferred to him by the scam in into various bank accounts, police added. Later, he was reportedly requested to pay more money as tax and risk margins, leading to his approach to the State Cyber Cell.

A chain of 76 bank accounts where the fake money was deposited and moved was discovered during the investigation. The amount of Rs 50 lakh was transferred to BJP leader Jagdish Malviya’s account, it is said. Investigators also noted that he travelled abroad shortly after receiving the money.

The accused person was produced before a Court and remanded to three days police custody. In his cross-examination, Malviya is alleged to have given the names of three people allegedly connected to the cyber fraud network. The police are looking at the offences of nearly Rs 3 crore now and are hoping that more offences will be disclosed in the upcoming days.