Delhi Police bust stock trading scam, arrest 8; ₹4 crore cheated in 14 days

Police said the fraudsters would lure potential targets using international WhatsApp numbers and direct them to fraudulent trading websites that showed manipulated profits.

Delhi Police has arrested eight individuals and uncovered a major stock trading fraud syndicate that duped several people of ₹4 crore in 14 days and routed the cheated money to handlers allegedly operating from Cambodia, officials said.

Cyber Police personnel with two of the eight accused arrested after an interstate investment fraud syndicate was busted in New Delhi on Sunday. (ANI video grab)

Deputy commissioner of police (Southwest) Amit Goel said an investigation was launched based on the complaint of a 42-year-old woman from Vasant Kunj, who claimed that she had been cheated of ₹15.58 lakh after being added to WhatsApp groups offering “expert guidance” in stock trading. A FIR was registered on November 7, 2025, under sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), Goel said.

Police said the fraudsters would lure potential targets using international WhatsApp numbers and direct them to fraudulent trading websites that showed manipulated profits. “Once trust was built, victims were induced into investing large sums of money through the links shared by these scammers. In this woman’s case alone, over ₹15 lakh was siphoned off,” Goel said.

A police team then conducted a detailed money trail analysis and digital forensics. “The investigation revealed that nearly ₹4 crore had been deposited into mule bank accounts within just 14 days,and at least 63 complaints on the National Cybercrime Reporting Portal (NCRP) were linked to this syndicate,” Goel said.

The investigation led the police to Vanapatla Sunil Kumar (43) from Telangana, who allegedly arranged mule bank accounts in lieu of commission. During questioning, Kumar allegedly disclosed opening a fake company in Keesara, Telangana, and facilitating a current bank account for routing the proceeds. His associate Sakinala Shankar (61) was arrested from Hyderabad, followed by Manoj Yadav (38) from Sant Kabir Nagar in Uttar Pradesh, police said.

Further raids across Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and Delhi led to the arrests of Sandeep Singh alias Lankesh (30), Aditya Pratap Singh (23), Rahul (30), Sheru (38) and Sompal (34). Police said Aditya coordinated the supply of mule accounts across India and shared access with foreign handlers via Telegram.

Sompal, an MBA and a former software company owner, allegedly allowed his corporate bank account to be used for bulk fraudulent transactions. Investigators found that 51 NCRP complaints were linked to his account alone.

Police also seized 10 smartphones and 13 SIM cards which were used to operate multiple mule bank accounts and communicate with handlers. “The WhatsApp numbers used to lure victims were being operated from Cambodia, while the suspect in India facilitated laundering through layered accounts to evade detection,” Goel said.

Further investigation is underway to identify additional victims and trace the overseas kingpin behind the operation, police said.