In one of the biggest crackdowns against cross-border cybercrime, India’s Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Thursday arrested Prince Jasvantlal Anand, the alleged kingpin of the infamous ‘Royal Tiger Gang’, from Mumbai. The gang, notorious for running a vast cyber-extortion racket, had been duping Canadian and American citizens through fraudulent calls and threats for years.
Anand, a 35-year-old resident of Mumbai, is believed to have orchestrated a large network of fraudsters who posed as officials from government agencies, banks, and law enforcement departments abroad, fleecing unsuspecting victims out of their life savings.
How the Scam Worked
The ‘Royal Tiger Gang’ operated by making automated robocalls and direct phone calls to victims in the U.S. and Canada. The callers pretended to be representatives of tax authorities, immigration officials, or police officers. Victims were falsely told they owed fines, taxes, or faced arrest for supposed legal violations.
The fraudsters then pressured people into making urgent payments, often via untraceable digital wallets, prepaid gift cards, or cryptocurrency. Many elderly and vulnerable people fell prey to these threats, paying thousands of dollars to avoid imagined legal trouble.
Authorities say the gang even created fake IDs and digital badges to make the calls seem convincing, sometimes spoofing official phone numbers.
Lavish Lifestyle Funded by Crime
The arrest came after simultaneous raids conducted by the CBI in Mumbai and Ahmedabad. During the searches, investigators uncovered evidence of Anand’s lavish lifestyle funded by his criminal enterprise.
Luxury cars, designer watches, expensive international vacations, and high-end gadgets were seized from his properties. Officials also recovered digital evidence linking Anand to multiple fake companies and cryptocurrency transactions.
According to sources, approximately USD 45,000 worth of virtual digital assets were also confiscated during the operation.
International Alert and Operation Chakra-V
The U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) had been tracking the activities of the Royal Tiger Gang since last year, labeling them a major threat to consumer communication systems in North America. The FCC had issued warnings about robocall scams linked to Indian networks, specifically pointing to the gang’s activities.
Acting on these alerts and through their ongoing cybercrime campaign titled Operation Chakra-V, the CBI coordinated with international agencies to track Anand’s movements and financial transactions before finally apprehending him.
This is the latest in a series of arrests under Operation Chakra-V, a nationwide initiative targeting cyber-enabled financial crimes and international fraud networks operating from Indian soil.
What’s Next for the Investigation
Anand is currently in CBI custody and undergoing intense interrogation. Authorities are now working to trace his associates in India and abroad. Investigators believe several call centers and fake tech-support operations in Mumbai, Delhi, and Ahmedabad are linked to the same network.
Officials hinted that more arrests are expected in the coming weeks as they continue to dismantle the infrastructure of this cybercrime syndicate. The CBI has also reached out to U.S. and Canadian law enforcement for further collaboration in the investigation.
The case stands as a stark reminder of how transnational cybercrime networks operate in the digital age, exploiting technology and human fear to orchestrate massive fraud.