Delhi Police arrests two for aiding Rs 6.4 crore stock market fraud

New Delhi, Sep 5 (PTI) Two men were arrested for allegedly facilitating a multi-crore stock market scam by providing their bank accounts to interstate cyber criminals, an official said on Friday.

The accused, Mohammad Asim Ali Khan from Uttarakhand and Rushikesh Jaywant Kamble from Maharashtra, acted as "professional account providers" for organised cybercrime networks that duped investors with fake IPO funding and high-return stock market investment schemes, he said.

According to the police, victims were lured through social media groups into downloading fake trading applications and then convinced to transfer large sums of money.

The investors funds were routed through layered bank accounts -- a method used to launder money through several bank accounts to make the original source difficult to trace.

"Whenever victims sought withdrawals, the fraudsters used to block them. The syndicate had cheated investors of nearly Rs 6.40 crore. The arrests have disrupted financial channels that were being used by cyber syndicates to launder money collected through fraudulent investment schemes," the official said.

Police said in one case, registered at the Special Cell, a complainant alleged of being duped of Rs 5.93 crore. A technical probe revealed that at least 33 first-layer accounts were used to siphon the money.

Among them was the bank details linked to accused Asim Ali Khan, through which transactions worth Rs 66 lakh were facilitated. His account was found linked with eight National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal (NCRP) complaints.

In another case, registered at Cyber East police station, a complainant alleged of being cheated of Rs 46.66 lakh. Investigations revealed eight first-layer accounts, including those operated by Kamble, who allegedly handled fraudulent transactions of Rs 6.71 lakh.

His two accounts were linked to as many as 78 NCRP complaints, police said.

During interrogation, both men admitted to repeatedly opening bank accounts and handing over full access, cheque books, ATM cards, internet banking credentials and SIM cards, to their handlers for a commission.

"These accounts were vital for receiving and layering fraud proceeds, thereby shielding the masterminds of the racket from direct detection," a police officer said.

Investigators found that Khan was earlier booked in a cybercrime case in Kurukshetra in Haryana, while Kamble was involved in a case with the Cyber Crime Detective Department in Hyderabad.

Their background established them as repeat offenders and trusted facilitators, police added.

Police further said that several more accounts linked to the racket have been identified. Efforts are underway to freeze them and trace the handlers and other co-accused. Further investigation is underway. PTI BM BM SHS OZ OZ