NEW DELHI: Two men have been arrested for allegedly providing their bank accounts to organised cyber syndicates that facilitated a multi-crore stock market fraud, police said on Friday.
The accused have been identified as Kulwant Singh, a resident of Bijnor in Uttar Pradesh, and Devender Singh, a resident of Udham Singh Nagar in Uttarakhand, they added.
“By luring investors with false promises of Initial Public Offering (IPO) funding and high-return stock market schemes, the syndicate defrauded victims of nearly Rs six crore. Fraudulent transactions of Rs 20 lakh (part of Rs six crore) were facilitated through their bank account in the name of an NGO/trust, and a current account was opened in the trust’s name for banking operations. The account is linked with 10 complaints on the national cybercrime reporting portal,” a police official said.
“Victims were contacted via social media and WhatsApp and induced to download fake trading applications,” Deputy Commissioner of Police (Crime) Aditya Gautam said.
“Investors were added to manipulated online groups and persuaded to invest. On withdrawal requests, fraudsters used deceit, threats, and coercion to deny payments,” the DCP further said.
“Funds were layered through multiple bank accounts to conceal their origin. The accused provided the registered trust’s current account to the fraud syndicate in exchange for monetary consideration — Rs 30,000 per month for the account’s availability and 5 per cent commission on each transaction routed through the account,” Gautam stated.
The accused admitted to being professional account providers for organised cyber syndicates. They registered a trust (NGO) with the sub-registrar and opened current accounts in the trust’s name specifically to obscure ownership while making the accounts available to the syndicate.
They handed over cheque books, ATM cards, SIM cards, and internet banking credentials to handlers. Their accounts were pivotal in receiving, layering, and circulating fraud proceeds across India, shielding masterminds and enabling large-scale victimisation, police said, adding that further investigation is underway to trace the handlers and recover the remaining amount siphoned off.
