Telegram group cyber investment fraud busted

MUMBAI: Police arrest 11 in a cyber fraud racket linked to stock market scams via a Telegram group, with suspects living lavishly off commissions.

MUMBAI: Police have exposed a cyber racket with international links, where victims had invested in the stock market through an online software app. The operation revolved around a Telegram group, which posted fictitious details of handsome returns that impressed the victims and encouraged them to keep investing.

Telegram group cyber investment fraud busted

A total of 11 individuals have been arrested from various places in Maharashtra and Goa, where they were living a life of luxury from the handsome commissions received from the cyber fraudsters running the operation from Nepal and Cambodia.

Dongri police, who had registered the initial complaint in July 2024 from 60-year-old Raviraj Kambli, identified the main accused as Dinesh Tayade, 30, who had purchased a Jaguar luxury car with his commission and was living in a posh villa in Goa at the time of his arrest. Tayade and the other accused had supplied more than 150 bank accounts and SIM cards to cyber fraud groups operating from Nepal and Cambodia.

In his complaint, Kambli had said that he had joined a Telegram group, where he was promised excellent returns and tips to make money in the stock market. He said he could see that the others on the group were earning huge profits from these tips. After he decided to join the group, he was told to download an app that displayed details of his investments. These details were, of course, fabricated.

“Kambli said he had invested ₹8.56 lakh and later could not withdraw the money the app claimed he had made on the stocks he had purchased,” said Pravin Munde, Deputy Commissioner of Police, Zone 1. “Through investigation and details from the banks that had received the defrauded money, police arrested Gautam Das, 48, Omkar Thorat, 27, and Shreeniwas Raju Rao, 36, in December 2024 and January 2025,” said Munde.

Thorat, a resident of Satara, told the police during interrogation that he had sold the bank accounts to another accused, Shrikhant Salunke, 22, a resident of Hinjewadi in Pune. “Salunke said he had given details of the bank accounts such as passwords and debit cards details via phone to Ojas Chaudhari, 30, a resident of Bhusaval in Jalgaon,” said assistant commissioner of police, Tanveer Shaikh, of the Dongri division.

Chaudhari was arrested from Mumbai Central. “From Chaudhari’s interrogation, we learnt about the roles of more accused, who were arrested within the jurisdiction of the Old Goa police station,” said the police officer. They have been identified as Aakash Dusane, 29; Dinesh Tayade, 30, a resident of Phatardi in Nashik; Mohammad Razzik Patel, 26, from Bhusaval; Sagar Kolhe, 28, from Chikhali, Pune; Harshal More, 30; and Amit Mitkar, 28, from Nashik.

Police said Tayade, Dusane and Patel had visited Nepal and Cambodia, where they met various people involved in cyber fraud. They had agreed to provide these individuals Indian SIM cards as well as bank accounts for a commission.

“Tayade convinced people like hotel waiters and small-time, blue-collar workers to open bank accounts in their names, details of which he gave to the fraudsters, said Munde.

“From Tayade and Dusane, we learnt that they had received around ₹2 crore each as commission from the accused and had supplied more than 150 bank accounts and plenty of SIM cards to the cyber fraudsters. We have seized luxury vehicles – a Jaguar car and a Mahindra Marazzo – from them. They also purchased flats in Nashik recently. We have also seized five laptops and 16 mobile phones from them,” said the police officer.