A Jodhpur-based businessman was duped of ₹16.26 crore after cyber fraudsters tempted him with higher returns through trading, the police said. Two people have been arrested and over 50 bank accounts that were used to commit the fraud have been seized.
Deputy commissioner of police (DCP) Amrita Duhan said complainant Arvind Kalani is a handicraft exporter residing in Jodhpur. The amount he was duped of belonged not only to him, but also his family and friends.
During the probe, the police found that the racket operated at various levels, such as taking bank accounts on a monthly rental and giving commissions to connect with people.
Duhan said the fraud started with a message from an international number in the name of Isla Dominique assuring high returns on trading through their portal metaoption-global, a fake site. The fraudsters offered the victim four types of membership – platinum, gold, silver and bronze.
Kalani paid ₹227,790 for the silver club membership, following which he was added into a WhatsApp group that had 6-7 members. Assuring guaranteed return on first trade (November 1), they asked for commission, for which he paid ₹104,480.
Soon, by November 21, ₹16,26,21,387 belonging to him and his brother Amit were transferred to various accounts through 101 transactions upon directions from Isla, the DCP said.
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When the complainant asked for returns, they said for that he needed to go a level up. Getting suspicious, he lodged a complaint on November 28. “Kalani transferred money to eight bank accounts in Udaipur, Gujarat, Kerala and Maharashtra – all fake accounts. The money, once transferred, was further shifted to a number of other accounts in layers,” she said.
The police arrested two people from Udaipur on the basis of suspicious bank accounts and transactions, Duhan said. One of them, accused Deepak Soni, gave his bank account on a monthly rental of ₹28,000 to Manas Garg, who was also arrested. Garg was asked to do so by his friend who assured a ‘good commission’.
Of the seized accounts, two had a liability of ₹310 crore and ₹500 crore, respectively, the police official said.
The DCP said ₹32 lakh has so far been refunded from the seized accounts, while ₹1.25 crore has also been frozen, which was transferred from A to B level accounts. An application has been moved in court to secure a refund of ₹1 crore to the complainant.
Duhan said a number of police teams have been dispatched to Ahmedabad and Mumbai to take forward the investigation.
