BENGALURU: The Directorate of Enforcement (ED) arrested three persons -- Shashi Kumar M (25), Sachin M (26) and Kiran SK (25) -- on Aug 15 and another person Charan Raj C (26 ) on Aug 21 in Bengaluru in a case related to cyber investment scams worth over Rs 25 crore, in which innocent persons are being cheated by inducing them to invest in stock markets through fake and fraudulent apps.
“The ED probe is based on FIRs registered by various state police and has so far, traced proceeds of crime of more than Rs 25 crore generated from the scam,” stated an ED release on Monday. “All the four accused were involved in incorporation of companies and opening of bank accounts, through which proceeds of crime generated from cyber scams were laundered,” it added.
The Special Court, Prevention of Money Laundering Act, Bengaluru remanded them to ED custody for seven days.
According to ED, it has so far conducted 13 searches on various premises, which led to the seizure of various incriminating material, including mobile phones and other digital devices. The ED stated that a victim in Faridabad was cheated of Rs 7.59 crore by the scamsters by inducing her to invest in stocks through fake apps.
In Noida, a businessman was cheated of Rs 9.09 crore by the scamsters who had added him to a WhatsApp group named GFSL Securities official Stock C 80. “He was induced to download an app and made to transfer Rs 9.09 crore to various bank accounts provided by customer care of the app,” stated the agency. In Bathinda, a doctor was defrauded of Rs 5.93 crore by inducing him to download the app, GFSL Securities, when he was browsing Facebook for alleged investment in stock markets.
“Similar modus operandi has been adopted by fraudsters in various other FIRs in which victims were lured via various social media platforms, including Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp and Telegram by giving false promises of high return on their investment, allotment of IPOs through special quota, etc. The scamsters contact various individuals within India via Telegram groups to acquire hundreds of SIM cards illegally. There are various Telegram groups where black marketers provide SIM cards. After activation, these SIM cards are shipped abroad. These SIMs are either linked with the bank accounts of multiple shell companies or used to create and run the WhatsApp accounts for the purpose of defrauding victims,” explained the agency.
The ED stated the scamsters incorporated hundreds of shell companies, specifically for acquiring and siphoning off the proceeds of crime generated from these cyber scams. “They use the addresses of co-working spaces to provide a physical/virtual address for the incorporation of these shell companies. Further, during the filing of Form INC-20A (required to be filed on MCA portal for commencement of business by a company), the scamsters submit forged bank statements as proof of share subscription by shareholders. They operate through a network of mule bank accounts which are rented through channels such as Telegram. The proceeds of crime are finally converted into crypto currency and siphoned off abroad to avoid detection and recovery,” the ED added.
“The Golden Triangle, located at the intersection of Thailand, Laos and Myanmar, has long been known for illicit activities, including drug trafficking and human trafficking. Indian citizens are lured on the pretext of job offers and trafficked to this Golden Triangle and are being exploited in cyber fraud operations,” stated the agency.