Noida: Man held for involvement in ₹1.39 crore trading fraud

The complainant is an IT engineer, who lives in a high-rise in Greater Noida. After two months of investigation, police zeroed in on a Madhya Pradesh-based man and nabbed him

Noida: The cybercrime branch of Noida Police on Thursday arrested a 29-year-old man in connection with a ₹1.39 crore fraud that occurred in July 2024, police said adding that a freeze had been put on the man’s Mumbai bank account which had about ₹14 lakh.

The cybercrime branch of Noida Police on Thursday arrested a 29-year-old man in connection with a ₹1.39 crore fraud that occurred in July 2024, police said. (Getty Images)

The complainant is an IT engineer, who lives in a high-rise in Greater Noida. His complaint to the police stated that, “In the first week of July, he was added to a WhatsApp group where financial advice specifically related to commodity trading (gold) was disseminated.”

After two months of investigation, police zeroed in on a Madhya Pradesh-based man. “The suspect has been identified as Raju Kewat, 29, a resident of Morena in MP. He was arrested in Noida on Thursday,’ said cybercrime branch, station house officer, Vijay Gautam, adding that during the investigation it was revealed that Kewat was in contact with cybercriminals and helped them by providing Indian bank accounts.

“The engineer was given a bank account details, where he was allowed to trade and earn huge profits. In 27 transactions from July 1 to July 30, he ended up losing ₹1.39 crore,” Gautam said.

“When his cumulative return reached ₹8.6 crore, the victim was asked to pay 20 per cent more, around ₹1.33 crore, as settlement fees. As he requested them to settle the fees from profit, he was directed to pay in advance,” the SHO added.

The complainant realised that he had walked into a trap, police said, adding that later a complaint was filed on August 10, and after an investigation, a case was registered under sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and IT Act at the Cybercrime Branch police station on October 22.

Further investigation is underway to trace Kewat’s links, they said, adding that efforts were being made to recover the victim’s money.