Kanpur The Crime Branch has arrested another accused involved in a honey trap and cryptocurrency investment fraud in which a retired bank manager from Nawabganj was allegedly duped of Rs2.52 crore. With this, the number of arrests in the case has risen to four.DCP Crime Shravan Kumar Singh said retired bank manager Anil Kumar Singh Chauhan was cheated between July 26 and August 28, 2025. According to the investigation, a woman identified as Ira Reddy allegedly trapped him through social media and persuaded him to invest in cryptocurrency by promising high returns.To arrange funds for the investment, Anil allegedly took a loan of ₹1.98 crore on the pretext of purchasing a flat. The fraudsters subsequently siphoned off a total of Rs2.52 crore.Following registration of the case, the Cyber Crime team launched an investigation using surveillance and analysis of mobile numbers and bank accounts. During the probe, police arrested Vipin Kumar, a resident of Chandpur Khanpur village in Bijnor district. Investigators found that Rs45 lakh from the fraudulent proceeds had been transferred to his bank account.Police said the accused used social media platforms, WhatsApp groups and fake cryptocurrency investment portals to lure victims with promises of substantial profits before carrying out the fraud.The investigation revealed that the defrauded money was routed through multiple bank accounts across several states, including Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Bihar, West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh and Assam, to conceal the transaction trail.DCP Singh said efforts are continuing to trace and arrest the remaining accused involved in the multi-crore fraud.
