Delhi Police arrests three more in cyber investment fraud case; seven held so far

New Delhi, Jan 9 (PTI) The Delhi Police has dismantled a multi-layered pan-India cyber investment fraud syndicate following the arrest of three more accused, taking the total number of arrests in the case to seven, officials said on Friday.

The newly arrested accused have been identified as Arif Sayyed and Md Rahan Anumi from Mumbai, and Summer Saini from Faridabad.

The case pertains to an online investment fraud in which a complainant was lured into investing money. The victim was targeted through fake trading groups on social media and a fraudulent mobile application that promised high returns via fictitious IPOs and trading schemes, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Crime Branch) Aditya Gautam said.

The complainant was allegedly cheated of Rs 27.20 lakh. This amount was subsequently routed through multiple mule bank accounts. Earlier in the investigation, four accused -- Mayur Maruti Sanas, Gaurav Jadhav, Mohammed Yousuf Ali and Mohd Abrar Khan -- were arrested for operating and facilitating primary mule accounts.

Police investigations revealed that a current account under the name M/s Nexus-IN Broadband had received Rs 14 lakh from the complainant's fund.

According to the officials, Arif Sayyed was arrested from Mumbai on December 26 based on information provided by Mohammed Yousuf Ali. Police said Sayyed allegedly conspired with account holders to open and operate mule accounts. He had no prior criminal record.

Summer Saini, a graduate and a mule account holder, was apprehended in Faridabad on January 3. According to the officials, Rs 4 lakh was transferred into his bank account from Mayur Maruti Sanas as part of the siphoning process.

Md Rahan Anumi was arrested from Mumbai on January 8 after his role surfaced during the interrogation of previously arrested accused. The officials said he was actively involved in managing mule accounts in connivance with account holders.

Investigations have revealed a well-organised network involving social media operators posing as investment advisors, facilitators managing SIM cards and QR codes and people handling banking credentials, they said.

The accused had earlier stayed together at a hotel in Pune to jointly operate bank accounts and rapidly transfer cheated money, they added. PTI SSJ SSJ AKY AKY