The CID Crime's Cyber Centre of Excellence in Ahmedabad arrested another accused on Saturday in connection with the Rs 226-crore cryptocurrency laundering and terror-funding case, which allegedly has links to Hamas and international drug syndicates. Officials confirmed that this arrest brings the total number of accused in the case to 10.
Details of the Arrest
The arrested individual, identified as 25-year-old Ghulam Ali Qureshi, resides in the Mirzapur area of Ahmedabad and is involved in mobile phone trading. He was apprehended after evading capture for nearly two years, allegedly hiding in Udaipur, Rajasthan. Investigators claim that Qureshi played a crucial role in converting illicit cryptocurrency into cash through peer-to-peer (P2P) transactions and mule bank accounts.
Training and Operations
According to CID Crime officials, Qureshi traveled to Dubai to learn USDT trading operations. Subsequently, he conducted transactions worth approximately Rs 10 crore to Rs 15 crore using a Binance wallet allegedly operated under his father's name. Police assert that Qureshi was directly linked to wallets that received funds from entities flagged by Israel's National Bureau for Counter Terror Financing (NBCTF).
Investigation and Network Links
The probe into this network began after investigators tracked transactions linked to a dark web narcotics platform. Technical analysis of multiple cryptocurrency wallets allegedly revealed connections to global terror-financing and money laundering networks. Officials claim that some wallets were linked to entities sanctioned by the US Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), including Yemen's Houthi group, Iran's IRGC-QF, and the Russia-based crypto exchange Garantex.
Financial Trail
Police stated that Qureshi allegedly received around Rs 43 lakh through layered cryptocurrency transactions connected to the network. Investigators also discovered that nearly 60 bank accounts used for converting cryptocurrency into cash were frozen during the probe.
Use of Anonymous Cryptocurrencies
CID Crime officials noted that the network allegedly employed anonymous cryptocurrencies such as Monero to conceal financial trails associated with narcotics trade, cyber fraud, and suspected terror financing.
