CBI Charges Two Chinese Nationals in ₹1000-Crore HPZ Token Scam

The Central Bureau of Investigation has filed a charge sheet against two Chinese nationals and 30 entities in a ₹1,000-crore pandemic investment fraud case. Investigators say the scheme used a fake mobile app named HPZ Tokens, promoting investments that supposedly funded cryptocurrency mining and delivered very high returns. This was not treated as a lone incident but part of a large, well-coordinated cybercrime network operated by foreign nationals, targeting Indian citizens in the post-Covid period through loan apps, fake investment apps, and platforms offering bogus online job offers.

The accused, Wan Jun and Li Anming, reportedly arrived in India to establish the company and its infrastructure, after which they left and operated the operation remotely from abroad. They are currently absconding. The CBI noted that the syndicate was the fountainhead of several scams, with local operations including arrests of six individuals—Dortse, Rajni Kohli, Sushanta Behra, Abhishek, Mohammad Imdhad Husain and Rajat Jain—and a broader web that connected 27 people, 25 individuals, and three companies to the scheme. Investigations revealed a massive, interconnected web of shell companies and a company named Jilian Consultants India Private Limited, which was a subsidiary of a Chinese entity, Jilian. Wan Jun served as director of that company in India, tying the Indian operations to the overseas network.

CBI’s statement emphasized that this was part of a wider cybercrime network rather than an isolated incident. The agency’s actions underscore ongoing efforts to dismantle cross-border scams exploiting digital platforms during and after the lockdown period. The charge sheet marks a significant step in pursuing accountability for the millions of rupees defrauded from unsuspecting investors and highlights the challenges of tracing remote-operating cybercriminals who use layered corporate structures to mask their activities.

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