Srinagar, February 16 Police have uncovered a multi-crore fake online investment racket and arrested eight persons, including the kingpin, in Ganderbal district of Jammu and Kashmir, officials said on Monday.
"The Jammu and Kashmir Police have successfully cracked a transnational, multi-crore online investment scam, which used phishing and fake trading platforms," a police spokesman said.
Among the eight persons held was the kingpin of the racket, who was arrested in Delhi, he said.
Acting on a complaint by Firdous Ahmad Mir, police in Gandebal launched an investigation into allegations of identity theft and cheating by a gang of online fraudsters.
"The Ganderbal SSP, Khalil Ahmad Poswal, constituted a special investigation team (SIT) to probe the matter, involving experts. The collection of evidence, through the arrest of suspects, house searches, and records from banks and other departments, revealed that there were investment websites on social media/Google, such as paisavault.com, which lured the general public.
"Once the victims started investing in these fake platforms, their money was diverted into the bank accounts of people from Budgam, Srinagar, Ganderbal, Baramulla, and multiple other places," the spokesman said.
All these accounts were under the control of the fraudsters, who immediately transferred the invested amount into accounts outside Jammu and Kashmir, and even outside the country, using multiple layers to prevent detection, he said.
The main handler of the nexus has been identified as Ekant Yogdutt alias Dr Morphine, a resident of Hissar in Haryana.
"The accused learned these techniques while studying medicine in the Philippines. He also had multiple links with Chinese nationals," the spokesman said.
The kingpin conspired with Mohd Ibrahim Shah alias Yawer, Nasir Ahmad Ganie, Maqsood Ahmad alias Dr Albert, Tanveer Ahmad alias Dr Martin, Tawseef Ahmad Mir, Khurshid Ahmad, and Ishfaq Ahmad, who worked as regional heads and account mobilizers.
"These local fraudsters approached people with low-income accounts (BPL) and promised to provide them with Rs 8,000-10,000 per month in exchange for their account details and ATM cards.
"The involvement of bank employees also emerged, who provided QR codes of accounts that were uploaded on fake websites," the spokesman said.
The fraudsters established Telegram channels and groups where they regularly uploaded QR codes. Once heavy transactions occurred in these accounts, the cyber units across the country froze the accounts, even as the fraudsters promptly uploaded new QR codes, he said.
"So far, police have collected details of 835 accounts and verified transactions of 290 accounts, through which Rs 209 crore was received from various investors across India. The amount is likely to exceed Rs 400 crore upon complete verification," he added.
The main accused, Ekant Yogdutt, was arrested at the IGI Airport in Delhi upon his return from China, while the other accused were taken into custody from various parts of the Kashmir region, the spokesman said.
"The Jammu and Kashmir Police have successfully cracked a transnational, multi-crore online investment scam, which used phishing and fake trading platforms," a police spokesman said.
Among the eight persons held was the kingpin of the racket, who was arrested in Delhi, he said.
Acting on a complaint by Firdous Ahmad Mir, police in Gandebal launched an investigation into allegations of identity theft and cheating by a gang of online fraudsters.
"The Ganderbal SSP, Khalil Ahmad Poswal, constituted a special investigation team (SIT) to probe the matter, involving experts. The collection of evidence, through the arrest of suspects, house searches, and records from banks and other departments, revealed that there were investment websites on social media/Google, such as paisavault.com, which lured the general public.
"Once the victims started investing in these fake platforms, their money was diverted into the bank accounts of people from Budgam, Srinagar, Ganderbal, Baramulla, and multiple other places," the spokesman said.
All these accounts were under the control of the fraudsters, who immediately transferred the invested amount into accounts outside Jammu and Kashmir, and even outside the country, using multiple layers to prevent detection, he said.
The main handler of the nexus has been identified as Ekant Yogdutt alias Dr Morphine, a resident of Hissar in Haryana.
"The accused learned these techniques while studying medicine in the Philippines. He also had multiple links with Chinese nationals," the spokesman said.
The kingpin conspired with Mohd Ibrahim Shah alias Yawer, Nasir Ahmad Ganie, Maqsood Ahmad alias Dr Albert, Tanveer Ahmad alias Dr Martin, Tawseef Ahmad Mir, Khurshid Ahmad, and Ishfaq Ahmad, who worked as regional heads and account mobilizers.
"These local fraudsters approached people with low-income accounts (BPL) and promised to provide them with Rs 8,000-10,000 per month in exchange for their account details and ATM cards.
"The involvement of bank employees also emerged, who provided QR codes of accounts that were uploaded on fake websites," the spokesman said.
The fraudsters established Telegram channels and groups where they regularly uploaded QR codes. Once heavy transactions occurred in these accounts, the cyber units across the country froze the accounts, even as the fraudsters promptly uploaded new QR codes, he said.
"So far, police have collected details of 835 accounts and verified transactions of 290 accounts, through which Rs 209 crore was received from various investors across India. The amount is likely to exceed Rs 400 crore upon complete verification," he added.
The main accused, Ekant Yogdutt, was arrested at the IGI Airport in Delhi upon his return from China, while the other accused were taken into custody from various parts of the Kashmir region, the spokesman said.
