New Delhi | The Delhi Police has arrested a key accused from Kerala in connection with an interstate investment fraud case of over Rs 45 lakh, officials said on Monday.
The accused, Jamsheed K (33), was apprehended from Kerala's Malappuram for his role as a "money handler" in the fraud network, they said.
The police said around Rs 10 lakh of the cheated amount was traced to a bank account linked to him, which was subsequently used to layer and transfer funds.
According to the police, the case was registered following a complaint by Sandeep Kumar, who was lured through social media to invest in a fake trading platform with promises of high returns.
He was allegedly induced to transfer Rs 45.9 lakh into multiple bank accounts, they said.
The police said the application showed fictitious profits of nearly Rs 7 crore, but the victim was unable to withdraw the amount and was later asked to deposit more money.
Investigation revealed the accused's bank account was linked to over 21 cyber fraud complaints on the 'Samanvaya' portal, they said.
Kanpur (UP) | Police have unearthed an organised cyber fraud racket in Kanpur on Monday with suspected international links, arresting eight accused involved in online gaming-based scams, police said.
The operation, carried out by the police along with the cyber crime team, exposed a network that duped victims through banned gaming apps such as Lotus365, Reddy Book, Kartikey and Dubai EXH, Commissioner of Police Raghubir Lal told PTI.
The accused allegedly lured users with promises of quick returns and routed the money through a network of fake bank accounts, the officer said, adding that they channelled fraudulent funds using multiple bank accounts and SIM cards.
The network appears to have been operated from Dubai, with domestic links in Noida, Mumbai and Lucknow, said an official pleading anonymity.
During searches, police discovered 26 mobile phones, two laptops, 54 ATM cards, 24 passbooks, a cheque book and 30 SIM cards linked to accounts across several states, including Telangana, Punjab, Madhya Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Uttar Pradesh.
Preliminary investigation has identified nearly Rs 50 lakh in suspicious transactions over the past three months, with action underway to freeze the amount, said an official.
Police have also traced 76 bank accounts allegedly used in the racket, with total transactions suspected to exceed Rs 1 crore.
The arrested accused have been identified as Satyam Tiwari, 22, Anmol Vishwakarma, 30, Nitin Gupta, 27, Abhishek Verma, 28, Hitesh Nigam, 32, Snehil Bajaj, 24, Sultan Ahmad, 24 and Naushad, 31, all residents of Kanpur.
A case has been registered under the relevant provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and the Information Technology Act.
Efforts are on to trace other members of the syndicate who remain at large, police said.
Gandhinagar | The Gujarat police has unearthed a Rs 77 crore cyber fraud linked to 375 cases registered across the country and arrested 16 accused from different locations in the state as well as Goa, an official said on Monday.
The accused set up a network of mule bank accounts to facilitate the transfer of funds derived from cyber crime and gaming-related fraud, as per police.
They procured bank accounts and SIM cards in the names of other individuals, and these accounts were subsequently utilised to execute cyber fraud schemes, the official said.
The network also maintained active communication with foreign-based operators (particularly in Dubai) through WhatsApp and Telegram groups for coordination and account-sharing, the official said.
"Sixteen persons operating a mule account network across Vadodara, Palanpur and Goa were arrested and cyber fraud exceeding Rs 77 crore linked to 375 crimes across the country were uncovered," CID Crime Cyber Centre of Excellence Superintendent of Police Vivek Bheda said.
Nine persons were held from Goa, five from Vadodara and two from Palanpur, he said.
"More than 260 bank account details were recovered from mobile phones of the accused. Some of the accused were involved in setting up fictitious firms, and three such shell firms, set up to facilitate mule account operations, were unearthed. They provided bank account details to their associates engaged in cyber crime and gaming-related fraud, thereby facilitating the laundering of fraudulently obtained funds," he added.
They procured bank account kits and SIM cards from various account holders and supplied them to their cybercrime associates, enabling the movement and concealment of proceeds of cyber fraud, the SP said.
Police seized 15 laptops, 85 mobile phones, 19 chequebooks, 82 passbooks, 126 SIM cards, 115 debit cards, blank cheques, routers, pen drives from their possession, he said.
Technical analysis of the laptop data recovered from the accused revealed bank statements, checkbooks, passbooks, bank login credentials, transaction statements, and PDF files of cyber fraud complaints, stated an official release.
Examination of mobile phones of the accused revealed WhatsApp and Telegram group chats with individuals based in Dubai and other foreign countries, through which bank account details were exchanged, indicating the involvement of an international network, it said.