Lucknow/Thane: The Uttar Pradesh Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) has uncovered a major racket where the perpetrators allegedly collected Rs 5 crore on the pretext of helping Gaza victims but diverted the funds for personal use and suspicious activities. Three youths were arrested from Bhiwandi in late-night raids on Saturday.The ATS has found the fraud was not confined to Bhiwandi and UP, but had a pan-India footprint, extending across at least 20 states. According to electronic and financial evidence gathered so far, the ATS said, the operation was orchestrated by a mastermind based in Greece who was the key handler of the fundraising syndicate and gave orders to the youths.Sources said a Greece-based operator instructed the three to launch social media campaigns and exploit humanitarian sentiments to collect the donations.According to senior ATS officials privy to the probe, the accused created multiple Instagram pages, WhatsApp groups, and other online platforms where they circulated emotional appeals and videos highlighting the plight of women and children affected by the Gaza conflict. They urged people across India to contribute financially to “relief efforts”. The official said, “The accused allegedly provided their UPI IDs and personal bank account details for the donations. Crores of rupees were collected over weeks, but investigations revealed that a significant portion of the funds never reached any humanitarian channels. Instead, large amounts were embezzled and diverted for the accused’s personal gain and for activities that investigators suspect could be linked to anti-national designs.”The funds were systematically routed through digital wallets, layered bank transfers, and UPI accounts before being siphoned abroad.Acting on intelligence inputs indicating that at least 50 transactions done by the trio from Bhiwandi were from accounts based in UP, the state’s ATS began trailing them. Once their locations were confirmed, the team secured non-bailable warrants from a competent court and arrested them on Saturday in coordinated raids with local police support. The arrested men were identified as Mohammad Ayaan (22), Zaid Notiyar (22), and Abu Sufiyan (22).Following confirmation of the fraud, the ATS registered a case under Sections 152, 318(4), and 61(2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) at the ATS police station in Lucknow. After producing the accused before a Mumbai court, the UP ATS secured transit remand to take them to Lucknow, where they will be presented before the competent court.ATS officials revealed that a significant chunk of the embezzled funds was funnelled through Greece and later withdrawn in Central European countries, making the money trail deliberately complex. This laundering pattern is consistent with techniques used by illicit networks globally to disguise the origin of funds and evade detection. Forensic examination of seized mobile phones and digital records further established that the trio regularly received direct instructions and communication from their Greece-based handler, confirming their role as ground-level operatives executing a wider international racket.The ATS said it would seek police custody for interrogation. Officials confirmed the recovery of three mobile phones used in running the social media campaigns, communication, and fund transfers. Digital forensic teams will analyse these devices to trace donor records, money trails, and potential foreign contacts.Another senior ATS officer said, “The accused exploited humanitarian sentiments during a global crisis to defraud innocent citizens. This case highlights how cyber platforms are being misused to run large fundraising scams under the garb of relief work.”Sources in ATS indicated that the investigation would also examine whether any of the siphoned funds were channelled into unlawful or extremist activities, and if the accused had links to organised networks involved in terror financing.The ATS has already flagged several suspicious bank transactions and is coordinating with financial intelligence units and cyber experts to map the full extent of the fraud. UP ATS will expand its probe to track additional members of the gang and financial facilitators of the racket. Officials have not ruled out invoking stricter laws such as the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) if terror-funding links are established.
