Indian authorities dismantled an alleged Rs 226 crore ($27mn) cryptocurrency laundering network with links to terror financing, the Indian Express reported.
India's Gujarat Police Dismantles $27mn Crypto Terror Finance Network
20 May 2026 - 12:58 CEST
By Sandmark staff
Gujarat CID’s Cyber Centre of Excellence (CCoE) arrested nine people across Ahmedabad, Mumbai and Karnal. The probe began after tracing dark web narcotics transactions to a wallet held by Ahmedabad resident Mohsin Sadiq Mohamed Molani Chhipa.
The syndicate allegedly used privacy coin Monero (XMR), which deploys ring signatures and stealth addresses to obscure trails, then converted proceeds to USDT (Tether), the largest dollar-pegged stablecoin. Funds were moved via layered wallets, Dubai operators and Hawala systems.
Authorities linked the network to Hamas, Yemen’s Houthi rebels (Ansar Allah), Iran’s IRGC-QF, Russia’s sanctioned Garantex exchange and wallets tied to fugitive Moldovan oligarch Ilan Shor. Binance-linked accounts connected to 935 cyber fraud cases, with additional UK drug trafficking activity coordinated via Telegram.
