The Kanpur Police Cyber Crime Team has busted a gang allegedly involved in a Rs 5,600 crore fraud and arrested two suspects. Shahvez Waris, a resident of Talaq Mahal in Beconganj, was arrested in Hyderabad. After being produced before a court there, he was brought to Kanpur on 48-hour transit remand. Based on information provided by Shahvez, police also arrested Salman, a resident of Chamanganj.
According to the police, the two accused were allegedly part of a network involved in cheating people through online gaming, cricket betting, investment schemes and digital arrest scams. Police Commissioner Raghubir Lal said the accused are being questioned, while their bank accounts, shell companies and financial transactions are being examined.
Preliminary investigation has found that the fraudulently obtained money was routed through multiple channels, including online gaming platforms and accounts used by IPL bettors. Police are also probing the involvement of other people in the network.
A total of 86 complaints have been filed against the two accused on the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal (NCRP), according to police. Of these, 11 complaints linked to Shahvez Waris's bank accounts involve fraud of around Rs 170 crore. Another 32 complaints against two of Salman's major accounts involve fraud of approximately Rs 16 crore. Police are matching these complaints with the details of the respective bank accounts.
The investigation has also revealed that the accused allegedly created around 76 bogus firms. Police suspect these firms and their associated bank accounts were used to transfer the defrauded money to different accounts. The cyber team is examining the firms' registrations, bank accounts, mobile numbers, digital transactions and documents.
Police said Shahvez fled to Dubai after a case was registered against him on August 18 and a lookout notice was issued. He returned on August 21, but fled to Dubai again on August 25 after the police issued a lookout notice on August 24. He was later arrested at Hyderabad airport after police learnt that he was in the city.
The team brought him to Kanpur on Friday night. Investigators are now probing whom he was in contact with in Dubai and whether he operated any part of the alleged cyber fraud network from there.
Two other alleged gang members, Chand Siddiqui of Jajmau and Mohammad Aman Khan of Beconganj, were sent to jail by police on August 24 in another fraud case. Police found transactions worth Rs 33.82 crore in one of Chand's accounts and Rs 559 crore in one of Aman's accounts.
The accused allegedly used several methods to lure victims. Under the guise of investment schemes, they promised people high returns and claimed their money could multiply within a short period. They also allegedly encouraged people to deposit money through online gaming and cricket betting. Police have also found instances of fraud carried out under the pretext of digital arrest and are investigating the number of people targeted through these methods.
Kanpur has witnessed other major cyber and economic fraud cases in recent years. In December 2025, police arrested Ravindra Soni from Dehradun in a case involving alleged fraud of around Rs 1,500 crore.
A chargesheet has been filed in that case. Police said Soni had created a chain of companies under the name "Blue Chip" and allegedly lured people with promises of 20 to 40 per cent returns and the possibility of doubling their investments.
Similarly, in May 2026, Kanpur Police arrested Mahfooz Ali, alias Pappu Chhuri, in connection with an alleged Rs 3,200 crore fraud. In view of these cases, the cyber team is also investigating possible links between Shahvez and Salman's network and previous fraud cases.
The police are now investigating how many people were involved in the alleged Rs 5,600 crore fraud and which accounts received the money. Investigators are matching NCRP complaints with bank account details and digital transactions. The role of accounts allegedly opened using other people's documents is also being examined. Police officials said the interrogation of the arrested accused could help them identify other members of the network.