J&K Police busts multi-crore fake online investment racket; 8 arrested

SRINAGAR: Police have unearthed a multi-crore fake online investment racket and arrested eight persons, including the kingpin, in Jammu and Kashmir’s Ganderbal district, officials said on Monday.

“Jammu and Kashmir Police achieved success in working out 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 a probe into allegations of identity theft and cheating by a gang of online fraudsters.

“Ganderbal SSP Khalil Ahmad Poswal constituted a special investigation team (SIT) to probe the matter, roping in experts in it. Collection of evidence by way of arrest of suspects, house searches, records from banks and other departments revealed that there were investment websites on social media/Google like paisavault.com, etc., which lured the general public.

“Once the victims started investing in the fake platforms of coin trading, their amounts were diverted into the bank accounts of persons hailing from Budgam, Srinagar, Ganderbal, Baramulla and multiple other places,” the spokesman said.

All such 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 by way of multiple layering 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 learnt these techniques while doing his MBBS 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 mobilisers.

“These local fraudsters approached below poverty line (BPL) account holders for providing their account details and ATM cards with the promise to provide Rs 8,000-10,000 per month.

“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 upload QR codes, and once heavy transactions occurred in such 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, wherein Rs 209 crore was received from various investors across India. The amount is likely to cross 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. (PTI)