Mumbai: Cyber police arrest 3 in Rs 6 crore pan-India investment fraud

The scamsters targeted victims through WhatsApp. Representative Pic/iStock

The Maharashtra Cyber police have busted a multi-state cyber fraud ring, arresting three individuals linked to a scam that has defrauded victims across India of over Rs 6 crore in a stock market investment fraud. The police have identified the accused as Abdul Wahab, Rohit Jathar, and Piyush Kumawat, who operated from Kolhapur and Rajasthan.

Recently, they had duped a south Mumbai businessman, siphoning off Rs 46 lakh by luring him into a fraudulent stock market investment scheme, said the police. The cyber police said that they launched a probe following a complaint from a 62-year-old retired chief engineer from Punjab.

According to the police, the scamsters targeted victims through WhatsApp, sharing a link to download a counterfeit investment app - Sharekipo. Promising lucrative returns, the gang manipulated victims into substantial investments, only to funnel their funds through multiple bank accounts and cryptocurrency transactions.

The cyber officials said that the accused used to convert stolen funds from dollars to rupees via the "Binance crypto platform" and distributed the money across various accounts. "We have traced transactions across 43 locations, suggesting a highly organised network with a pan-India reach," an official said.

The mastermind of the scam, identified as Vivek Verma, remains at large, said the officials, adding that he allegedly orchestrated the scam and led efforts to entice victims through deceptive online links. The cyber police said they have seized mobile phones and SIM cards linked to the operation, aiming to uncover more leads and potential accomplices.

The arrested suspects are currently in seven-day police custody. Advocate Ajay Dubey, representing the accused, claims his clients came from poor backgrounds and received only a small portion of the stolen funds.