Coimbatore (Tamil Nadu), February 13 The CB-CID of the Tamil Nadu police has busted an inter-state iridium scam network by arresting six individuals who were allegedly impersonating RBI officials and defrauding victims to the tune of Rs 5.65 crore, police said on Friday.
The gang reportedly targeted at least 23 people across various states using a sophisticated operation involving fake interviews and forged documents.
According to the CB-CID, the matter came to light after a victim from Coimbatore reported being cheated of Rs 3 crore by a group posing as businessmen in the iridium trade. The victim was informed that several crores of rupees were held in the RBI and would be released upon payment of Rs 10 lakh as processing charges.
After the initial payment, the victim was taken to New Delhi to meet individuals who impersonated officials from the RBI Foreign Exchange Department.
The accused allegedly wore fake RBI identity cards and conducted an official interview, which included the collection of biometric fingerprints to instill belief in the victim. They also issued forged documents such as credit advice and dispatch orders while misusing the name and emblem of the RBI. Additional sums were later taken from the victim on various pretexts, including payments to expedite the release of funds.
A case has been registered in the Krishnagiri CB-CID unit for cheating, criminal conspiracy, impersonation, and fabrication of forged documents, a release from the police said.
On February 9 and 10, six special teams comprising 25 police personnel arrested the accused persons with the assistance of local police from multiple states, it added.
The arrested individuals have been identified as Sonu Kumar Dubey, Aashish Kumar, and Gopal Sekar of Bihar, George Thomas of Telangana, Gulshan Darad of Jharkhand, and Srinivasan of Karnataka. Police seized eight mobile phones with sim cards and two laptops from the accused, who have been remanded to judicial custody.
The investigation is ongoing to identify more victims and verify the involvement of other individuals in the scam.
The CBCID has advised other victims who may have been cheated by such scamsters to prefer a complaint with the department.
The iridium scam is a multi-state financial fraud where criminals lure investors by promising astronomical returns on the trade of "iridium-copper," a rare commodity. The scam involves several deceptive layers.