New Delhi: Federal Bureau of Investigation Director Christopher A. Wray Monday visited the headquarters of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to meet its director and discuss ways to “strengthen exchange of information on criminal matters and coordination to combat transnational crimes”
According to a statement released by the CBI, Wray held discussions with CBI Director Praveen Sood and other senior officials, focussing on “sharing of expertise in investigation of technology-enabled crimes”.
The statement said that both agencies recognised the challenges posed by organised crime networks, cyber-enabled financial crimes, ransomware threats, economic crimes, transnational crimes and the need to tackle them.
ThePrint was the first to report that Wray would visit the CBI to discuss “pending extraditions, cybercrime cooperation and strengthening of the informal channel between the two countries”.
Wray’s visit to India comes at a time when the US has indicted an Indian national and has brought forth the alleged involvement of an Indian government official in an assassination plot against wanted Sikh separatist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun. India has established an enquiry committee to investigate these claims.
While the visit is taking place under the shadow of the Pannun affair, it was not kept under wraps, unlike the earlier visits by the CIA chief and the director of national intelligence.
According to an authoritative source in the security establishment, Wray’s visit was planned “well in advance” and had been in the schedules of the directors of the investigation agencies since May this year.
‘Need to expedite sharing of evidence’
The CBI statement said that the need to expedite sharing of evidence and for closer assistance in bringing criminals and fugitives to face justice was deliberated during the meeting.
“It was also discussed to exchange best practices of FBI Academy, Quantico and CBI Academy, Ghaziabad,” the CBI statement said.
In the past year, numerous unsuspecting individuals have fallen victim to online fraud cases under investigation by the CBI, and the agency has been closely working with the FBI to crack these cases. These include cash-for-job scams and call-centre scams targeting US citizens.
According to CBI sources, such cases represent one of the biggest “cyber-enabled money-laundering frauds” in India as it is a highly intricate racket involving multiple layers and advanced technology. Several operations by Indian agencies are being done in collaboration with the US’s FBI to counter this menace.
The CBI has also been able to bring 49 fugitives involved in serious cases back to India in the past year, including some from the USA. So, a key area of discussion was about increased cooperation in expediting extradition requests and the opening of informal channels for quick redressal, a source had told ThePrint.
The statement said: “Director Wray’s visit signifies a step towards deepening cooperation and shared commitment to combat crime in all its manifestations in the spirit of international police cooperation.”
“Both agencies agreed to look forward to future interactions and collaborative initiatives,” it added.