BJP District Panchayat Member Arrested in MP’s ₹21 Crore Crypto Fraud; WhatsApp Message Exposed Money Trail
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Summarized by AI; it may make mistakes. Check important info
A WhatsApp message that began with “Hello, this is Divya speaking” has led investigators to what is believed to be Madhya Pradesh’s biggest cyber fraud case, resulting in the arrest of a BJP district panchayat member accused of helping launder money from a ₹21.06 crore cryptocurrency scam.
The Madhya Pradesh cyber police arrested Jagdish Kumar Malviya, a BJP district panchayat member from Shajapur, after tracing around ₹50 lakh of the defrauded funds to a bank account linked to him. Investigators allege he knowingly allowed cyber fraud proceeds to be routed through an organisation’s account in exchange for a 2% commission.
How the alleged crypto scam began
The case centres on Ashok Vijayvargiya, a 70-year-old chartered accountant from Gwalior, who allegedly lost ₹21.06 crore after being lured into a fake cryptocurrency investment scheme involving USDT trading.
According to the police, the fraud began in December 2025 when Vijayvargiya received a WhatsApp message from a woman identifying herself as “Divya”. She allegedly convinced him to invest in cryptocurrency by promising exceptionally high returns.
To build trust, the fraudsters reportedly allowed him to withdraw a small amount initially. A fake online trading portal later showed his investment growing to more than ₹33 crore, persuading him that the platform was genuine.
Victim made 106 transactions across 76 bank accounts
Investigators said every attempt to withdraw the supposed profits was met with demands for additional payments, including “income tax”, “risk margin” and other fabricated charges.
By the time Vijayvargiya realised the investment was fraudulent, he had transferred more than ₹21 crore through 106 separate transactions into 76 different bank accounts.
Money trail led investigators to Jagdish Malviya
Cyber police reconstructed the digital money trail and found that around ₹77 lakh reached accounts connected to Malviya during the initial layer of transfers. Of this, approximately ₹50 lakh has been directly linked to the fraud under investigation.
Police said Malviya had access to the bank account and internet banking credentials of an organisation where he served as president. During questioning, he allegedly admitted to allowing fraud proceeds to pass through the account for a commission.
Investigators have also identified suspicious transactions exceeding ₹2.5 crore in his accounts, suggesting they may have been repeatedly used to route funds generated through cyber fraud.
Police suspect a nationwide mule account network
According to investigators, the money was moved through an extensive banking network designed to prevent authorities from freezing the funds.
The investigation has so far identified more than 20,000 bank accounts and digital transactions, with the money passing through 15 layers of transfers.
Nearly 35 per cent of the funds were allegedly routed through accounts in southern India before being dispersed across multiple states, including Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Jharkhand, West Bengal, Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh.
Police have frozen around ₹2 crore, while the remaining funds are believed to have been withdrawn, converted into cryptocurrency or transferred through digital payment channels.
Bangkok trip under scrutiny
Investigators alleged that Malviya was living an extravagant lifestyle financed by suspicious financial transactions. Police said he had travelled to Bangkok in July with associates while investigators were tracing the cryptocurrency fraud network.
He has been produced before a court and remanded to police custody. During interrogation, he reportedly shared information about an interstate network involved in operating “mule accounts”—bank accounts used to receive and quickly transfer illegal funds before they can be frozen.
Probe now focused on masterminds
Police officer Sanjeev Nayan Sharma said the investigation is now focused on identifying the masterminds behind the fake cryptocurrency platform, tracing IP addresses, analysing WhatsApp communications, including a number with a US country code, and uncovering the interstate syndicate controlling the mule accounts.
Investigators believe many account holders may have acted as commission-based money mules, while the real operators remain concealed behind layers of digital transactions.
