Six held in share market fraud linked to Chinese cyber criminals

Preliminary findings suggest that the group has defrauded approximately 150 to 160 people, with the total scam amount estimated to be between ₹20 and ₹25 crore.

Pune: The cyber police of Pimpri-Chinchwad police commissionerate on Wednesday arrested six individuals from a Kondhwa hotel involved in duping citizens by luring them with promises of high returns in the share market. During the investigation, it was revealed that the accused were providing local bank accounts to Chinese cyber fraudsters.

(Shutterstock)

Preliminary findings suggest that the group has defrauded approximately 150 to 160 people, with the total scam amount estimated to be between ₹20 and ₹25 crore.

The arrested persons have been identified as Yash Bharat Patole, 25, from Raman Mala, Kolhapur; Yasir Abdul Majid Sheikh, 34, from Nirman Seren, Undri; Mohammad Sultan Ahmed Zahiruddin, 30, from Patna, Bihar; Maj Afzar Mirza, 24, from Ghorpadi Peth, Mominpura; Hussen Tahir Sohel Sheikh, 23, from Mujib Colony, Sambhajinagar, and Baburao Shivkiran Meru, 41, from Nirmal Township, Kalebaratenagar, Hadapsar.

The complainant, a pharma company programmer, saw a social media advertisement claiming daily profits of 10 to 20 per cent in the share market. He was persuaded to invest ₹89.35 lakh in a fake trading app. The app showed a profit of ₹8.71 crore on his investment. However, when he tried to withdraw the money, he was asked to pay a service tax, exposing the scam.

The accused used private bank accounts to transfer ₹33.86 lakh. Police identified that Patole was operating one such account under the alias ‘Trading Guru.’ A raid at a hotel in Kondhwa led to his arrest. Further investigations revealed that his accomplices were managing multiple accounts from a hotel in Kondhwa, investigators said.

The accused were found communicating with Chinese-speaking individuals via Telegram. They had installed CCTV cameras and were operating two bank accounts belonging to Ajit Anandrao Gaikwad and Dhanaji Natha Patil from Sangli. Police seized nine mobile phones, 15 SIM cards, four CCTV cameras, eight cheque books, 20 ATM/debit cards, a laptop, a memory card, a passport, and ₹13,550 in cash.

The gang transferred the defrauded money to overseas partners using cryptocurrency. They also used hawala and money transfer routes to facilitate cyber fraud.