Police bust online investment fraud racket
The Delhi Police busted an online investment fraud racket linked to transactions worth around Rs 1.56 crore and arrested two men accused of operating mule bank accounts used to channel money obtained through cyber frauds, officials said on Monday.
The arrests were made by the Cyber Police Station in Shahdara during the investigation of a case in which a Delhi woman was allegedly cheated of Rs 21 lakh through a fake online investment scheme. DCP Shahdara Rajendra Prasad Meena said the accused were identified as Mohammad Sadik, 32, from Moradabad, and Javed Ansari, 34, from Amroha in Uttar Pradesh.
The case was registered on April 9 after a woman from GTB Enclave approached authorities alleging that fraudsters posing as investment experts on Telegram had duped her. Investigators said the woman had come across an online advertisement about stock market investments and, after clicking the link, was added to a Telegram group. Members of the group allegedly convinced her to invest by promising high returns and a safe investment, and she transferred the money.
However, when she sought to withdraw her money and claim the promised returns, the fraudsters stopped responding and eventually blocked her from the Telegram groups.
Following the registration of an FIR under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, a dedicated team was constituted to investigate the case. Using technical surveillance, financial analysis and intelligence inputs, police traced the suspects and conducted raids in Uttar Pradesh’s Amroha and Moradabad districts.
During interrogation, the accused allegedly admitted to facilitating cyber fraud operations by providing and operating bank accounts used to receive and transfer proceeds of crime.
Police said the duo remained in touch with associates via WhatsApp, who used the accounts to route money generated by online investment scams and other cyber fraud.
