Cybercriminals breached the servers of a Noida-based financial risk-management technology firm to carry out an illicit trading scheme on the Multi Commodity Exchange platform, manipulating low-liquidity silver options to generate unlawful gains estimated at ₹11 crore. The intrusion occurred late on the night of June 17, 2026, when unauthorized users hijacked the firm’s systems and registered static IP address to execute a coordinated wave of market orders across seven client accounts. An official complaint filed the following day by local resident Priyank Dwivedi triggered a technical investigation by the Cyber Crime Police Station into what authorities describe as an unprecedented method of digital market interference.
Forensic audit details price surge in illiquid contracts
A forensic inquiry carried out by the Indian Computer Emergency Response Team revealed deliberate distortion in both trading volumes and contract valuations. The investigation established that 1,238 unauthorized orders involving 5,559 contracts were concentrated in thinly traded silver options. Over a five-minute window, the price of a targeted contract surged from ₹174 to ₹2,300. Investigators noted that approximately ₹12 crore in option premiums was deployed to orchestrate the price jump, creating the false appearance of genuine market liquidity while counterparties acted in coordination to siphon off ₹11 crore in profits.
Accused arrested as multiple traders face steep losses
The Cyber Crime Police arrested an accused individual, identified as Ankit Rai, following preliminary findings from the digital audit trail. Rai was presented before a local court on September 4 and later granted bail. Meanwhile, several legitimate market participants suffered severe financial harm as a direct consequence of the artificial price movement. Among the affected investors, Shashikant Sahu reported losses of approximately ₹3.15 crore, while Meenu Rakheja and Shanti Bhushan Rakheja lost around ₹2.90 crore and ₹2.09 crore respectively. Further losses were recorded by Nihar Ranjan at ₹96 lakh, Arvind Mishra at ₹83 lakh, and Ravin Sahni at ₹73 lakh, with trader Ritika Lohani also impacted.
Investigators trace fund flows and unauthorized server access
Police officials confirmed that the mechanism for recovering the lost funds remains undetermined while technical teams cross-verify logs and communication records. The Assistant Commissioner of Police for Cyber Crime stated that specialized units are analyzing how the firm’s infrastructure in Sector 63 was penetrated, how the registered static IP was exploited, and how the orders were distributed through the seven compromised accounts. The current probe centers on mapping the entire sequence of transactions, establishing the chain of beneficiaries, and uncovering the specific banking channels used to transfer or withdraw the proceeds.
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