22-year-old held for duping Greater Noida man of ₹1.56 crore on pretext of online trading

On April 20 this year, Prawal Chaudhary (44), a resident of Zeta-1, Greater Noida, submitted a complaint at the cybercrime police station in Sector 36 stating that he has been duped of ₹1,55,85,740 (approximately ₹1.56 crore) on the pretext of online trading

A 22-year-old man was arrested on Wednesday by the Noida cybercrime police in connection with a fraud perpetrated on a Greater Noida man who was allegedly duped of ₹1.56 crore in the guise of online trading, said police.

Over the course of one year, by March 2023, the complainant had lost approximately ₹1.56 crore. (Representative Image)

On April 20 this year, Prawal Chaudhary (44), a resident of Zeta-1, Greater Noida, submitted a complaint at the cybercrime police station in Sector 36 stating that he has been duped of ₹1,55,85,740 (approximately ₹1.56 crore) on the pretext of online trading.

On the basis of the complaint, an FIR was registered at the police station against representatives of an online website under sections 406 (criminal breach of trust), 419 (cheating by personation), 420 (cheating) of the Indian Penal Code and relevant provisions of the IT Act, said officials.

“The complainant stated that in February 2022, he was approached by a person online to invest in online trading and was lured with a promise of doubling investments. In the initial stage, the fraudsters gained the trust of the victim by returning a large sum of money on the complainant’s investment. However, later, as the complainant continued to invest more and more money, he did not get any returns. Website representatives gave him excuses such as the stock suffered a loss, or that account was suspended,” said Reeta Yadav, in-charge of cybercrime police station.

Over the course of one year, by March 2023, the complainant had lost approximately ₹1.56 crore, she added.

“We have received several complaints from Noida and Greater Noida residents who have been duped by the same website on the pretext of online trading. We believe that this is a huge nexus as the victims have been duped of amounts in excess of ₹1 crore,” said Yadav.

She added that during investigation, it was found, “The complainant was made to transfer the money in 22 different bank accounts registered under different company names. ₹70 lakh was transferred to the account of ‘99 Recharge Solutions’. Tracing the bank account, it was found that the bank account was opened by Deepak Gola, a resident of Ballabhgarh, Faridabad. He was arrested from Sector 36 in Noida on Wednesday,” said the officer.

During interrogation, Gola revealed that the bank account was opened in June last year. “The bank account was opened on June 14, 2022, in the name of a company that only exists only on paper. The suspect revealed that he was being paid a hefty commission to rent out his bank account to the fraudsters,” said Yadav.

She added that during investigation, it has been found that the bank account is being accessed from Dubai. “Through internet banking, the bank account was being accessed from Dubai, technical evidence has found. We are investigating further to arrest the prime suspects in the case,” she said.

Further, she added, “After the FIR was registered, ₹88 lakh was returned to the complainant following legal proceedings at the district court.”

Man travelling in e-Rickshaw held with ₹45 lakh cash

A 35 year old man was taken into custody on Tuesday evening by Gautam Budh Nagar police after he was found travelling in an e-Rickshaw with a bag containing ₹45 lakh cash in Sector 112, Noida, senior officers said. The income tax department is questioning the suspect and no case has been registered yet.

According to the police, they received a tip-off that a man with a huge amount of cash would cross Sector 112 check-post.

“ Around 7pm, a man in an e-rickshaw was spotted and asked to stop. A search revealed a bag containing ₹45 lakhs in cash. He was unable show any documents for the cash, following which he was taken into custody,” Shakti Avasthy, additional deputy commissioner of police Noida, said.

He said, “The bag contained notes in the denomination of ₹500 and the man said they were to be exchanged for ₹2,000 notes. Income tax officials have been informed and the suspect is being questioned. Further investigation is underway.”