MUMBAI: The North Cyber police on Monday arrested three men from Bandra for allegedly committing fraud by luring people into investing money in their fake online trading company. The three accused are said to have duped several people of amounts worth crores of rupees.
The cyber police said that the fraud was first reported in February by a 49-year-old man from Kandivali. He had lost ₹2.77 crore which he had invested in IIFL Markets, a company floated by three accused identified as Krishak Shirodkar, 38, Krishna Gawli, 24, and Sohail Shaikh, 30.
According to the police, the complainant learnt about the trading platform through social media. He was then added to a WhatsApp group called K05-IIFL Securities Ltd for tips on the share markets and where to invest for larger profits. He was then lured to invest ₹1.70 crore through a mobile application. After a few days when he attempted to withdraw his profit amount, he was asked to pay the taxes to avail the amount. He then approached the police after he realised that he had been duped of ₹2.77 crore.
The police said that they registered a case against the three accused under sections 318 (4) (cheating), 319 (2) (cheating by pretending to be someone else), 336 (2) (forgery), 338 (forgery of documents), 340 (2) (forgery of documents or electronic records), 61 (2) criminal conspiracy of Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita for cheating and the Information Technology Act, 2000 for social media promotion of the fake trading platform and online transactions.
{{/usCountry}}The police said that they registered a case against the three accused under sections 318 (4) (cheating), 319 (2) (cheating by pretending to be someone else), 336 (2) (forgery), 338 (forgery of documents), 340 (2) (forgery of documents or electronic records), 61 (2) criminal conspiracy of Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita for cheating and the Information Technology Act, 2000 for social media promotion of the fake trading platform and online transactions.
{{/usCountry}}During investigation, the police traced the transactions made to the linked bank accounts and identified the three men behind the fraud. The three accused were arrested from Bandra on Monday. The officers said that the three had withdrawn the money and distributed it amongst themselves.
“We have arrested the three and are investigating how many more people had the three duped using the same company and modus operandi,” said a police officer from Cyber police station.