CBI officials apprehended fugitive Harnek Singh at Delhi's Indira Gandhi International Airport following his deportation from the United States.
Singh had been absconding since May 2013 after allegedly operating a money-transfer outlet to receive defrauded funds from Singapore-based Indians.
The fraud involved spoofed calls where scammers impersonated Singapore Immigration authorities to extort settlement fees over alleged disembarkation form errors.
The Central Bureau of Investigation has secured the return of long-absconding accused Harnek Singh to India after he had evaded investigation and trial since 2013. Singh was deported from the United States and apprehended by CBI officials at Indira Gandhi International Airport in New Delhi on Wednesday, according to a CBI press release.
Singh faces imminent court proceedings. The agency plans to present him before the Special Judicial Magistrate (CBI Cases) in Panchkula, Haryana, at the earliest opportunity, the bureau informed.
Singapore Scam Case
The CBI lodged the case in 2016. It centres on charges of criminal conspiracy, cheating, forgery and the fraudulent use of fabricated records under the Indian Penal Code, alongside violations under the Information Technology Act.
According to the CBI press release, the alleged fraud dates to 2013, when Indian nationals living or working in Singapore were reached through spoofed calls by fraudsters operating from India. The callers impersonated officials of Singapore Immigration authorities.
Scammers threatened the targeted individuals with deportation. They falsely claimed that victims had submitted erroneous airport arrival cards and faced legal prosecution. To resolve the fake offences, victims wired settlement fees through Western Union to Indian recipients, funnelling the funds into a money-transfer business Singh managed alongside co-accused Aditya Bhardwaj and Deepak Jain.
Flight And Pursuit
Singh fled India in May 2013 and later entered the US illegally, where he remained absconding for more than a decade.
While Singh remained absconding, the trial of Bhardwaj and Jain concluded before the Special Judicial Magistrate (CBI Cases), Panchkula, and both were convicted on May 26, 2025.
Despite summons and a bailable warrant being served upon him in the US through the US Department of Justice, Singh did not appear before the trial court. Consequently, the Special Judicial Magistrate, CBI, Panchkula, issued an open-dated non-bailable warrant of arrest against him on April 22, 2024.
The agency widened the manhunt globally. Investigators secured an Interpol Red Notice and triggered a Look-Out Circular against his passport. Following his removal from the US, CBI officers took Singh into custody at Delhi's Indira Gandhi International Airport on September 9.
