CBI found that several key bank accounts used for receiving money from victims and routing the funds were being controlled by masterminds based in Cambodia, Hong Kong, and China.
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The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has gathered evidence indicating that the “slave compounds” operating in Myanmar and neighbouring areas have emerged as major hubs for the execution of digital arrest frauds. The agency has filed a charge sheet against 13 accused persons in one such major digital arrest case.
The agency found that several key bank accounts used for receiving money from victims and routing the funds were being controlled by masterminds based in Cambodia, Hong Kong, and China.
“Multiple streams of evidence now indicate that slave compounds operating in Myanmar and neighbouring areas have emerged as major hubs for the execution of digital arrest frauds, where trafficked Indian nationals are coerced to run call-centre style cybercrime operations,” it said.
Operation Chakra-V
The action against cybercriminals is being taken by the agency as part of Operation Chakra-V. The instant case was registered suo motu to comprehensively investigate 10 significant incidents of digital arrest scams reported across the country, amid a steep rise in such offences.
In October 2025, the CBI conducted coordinated searches in and around Delhi, Haryana, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Kerala and West Bengal and seized incriminating material including electronic devices, communication logs, financial records and other digital evidence. Based on the evidence, three accused persons were arrested, all of whom are currently in judicial custody.
During the investigation, the agency analysed over 15,000 IP addresses associated with the scam networks. “The technical analysis revealed extensive cross-border connections, showing that several key bank accounts used for collecting and routing victim funds were being controlled by masterminds based in Cambodia, Hong Kong, and China. From the vast technical dataset, India-based IP addresses were isolated, enabling targeted searches and identification of domestic operatives,” it said.
Cyber slavery
About the “slave compounds” based in and around Myanmar, the agency said the findings aligned with the intelligence gathered during parallel CBI investigations into cyber slavery and organised digital exploitation networks in South-East Asia.
The probe has thrown up significant leads on the financial trail, call-flow patterns, VoIP routing, remote-access tool misuse, and the broader technology infrastructure supporting digital arrest scams.
“Based on the evidence collected, the CBI has filed a charge sheet against 13 accused within the statutory 60-day period… further investigation is under way to identify additional conspirators, facilitators, money-mule handlers, and the overseas infrastructure enabling these transnational cyber fraud operations,” it said.
The human trafficking angle related to cyber slavery cases is being probed by the National Investigation Agency (NIA). It has unearthed a wide local network spread across multiple States, including Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Delhi, Maharashtra, and Punjab, through which the Indian youth were being trafficked to Southeast Asian countries.
The local suspects were sub-agents, associates, and relatives of Cambodia-based Indian agents involved in the trafficking racket. The NIA found that the youth were lured on the false promise of lucrative and legitimate jobs and then forced them into “cyber slavery”. Their passports were seized by the companies indulging in cybercrimes. The victims were subjected to mental and physical torture, even electric shocks, by the managers of such companies on refusal to commit cyber frauds.
Published – December 11, 2025 11:14 pm IST
