Cops nab gang involved in cyber fraud of ₹57.7 lakh

During the police investigation, it was found that a portion of the defrauded money had been transferred to an account in the name of Maruf Real Estate and withdrawn in cash

Pune: The cyber police station of Pimpri Chinchwad on Sunday arrested a gang which defrauded an individual of ₹57.7 lakh with the lure of high returns on stock market investments. The accused withdrew the money, deposited by the victim in a bank account, in cash and converted it into cryptocurrency to avoid detection.

The accused withdrew the money, deposited by the victim in a bank account, in cash and converted it into cryptocurrency to avoid detection. (REPRESENTATIVE PIC)

The arrested accused have been identified as Sahil Anwar Sayyed (22), a BBA student; Bhupendra Avtar Singh (34), a passport agent; and Sarfaraz Rafiq Sayyed (29), a garage owner; all residents of Kondhwa. They allegedly use their professional and personal bank accounts for such transactions, the police said.

The complainant, who works as an accountant in a private company, mentioned in his complaint that he was lured into investing in the stock market with false promises. Believing the accused, he invested ₹57.7 lakh through an app. Within a few days, the app showed a profit of ₹5.15 crore. However, when he tried to withdraw the amount, he was asked to pay various charges. Realising he had been swindled, he lodged a complaint with the cyber police station.

During the police investigation, it was found that a portion of the defrauded money had been transferred to an account in the name of Maruf Real Estate and withdrawn in cash. Bhupendra had withdrawn the money and handed it over to Sahil and Sarfaraz. In return, he received cryptocurrency, which was used to launder the money.

“Earlier, a film producer named Shivam Balkrishna Samvatsarkar was arrested in a similar case,” said inspector Ravikiran Nale, who is the investigating officer in the case.