Delhi police arrest 8 in inter-state investment fraud; Rs 4 crore routed via mule accounts, Cambodia link found

NEW DELHI: Police arrested 8 fraudsters, including an MBA graduate and a 61-year-old man, for allegedly running an inter-state investment fraud syndicate that routed nearly Rs 4 crore through mule bank accounts in just 14 days.

Cops found links to handlers operating from Cambodia, while the Indian accused facilitated accounts and fund transfers on a commission basis.The arrests were made after an investigation into a fake investment scam that duped multiple victims across the country. Officials said at least 63 complaints registered on the National Cybercrime Reporting Portal (NCRP) were linked to the gang, which had operational connections with a kingpin based in Cambodia.Those arrested were identified as Vanapatla Sunil Kumar (43) and Sakinala Shankar (61) from Telangana, Manoj Yadav (38) from Sant Kabir Nagar in Uttar Pradesh, Sandeep Singh (30) from Banaras, Aditya Pratap Singh (23) from Rajasthan’s Bundi, Rahul (30) and Sheru (38) from Nabi Karim area, and Sompal (34) from Bareilly in Uttar Pradesh. Police said Sompal was an MBA graduate who ran a software company before allegedly supplying his corporate bank account to cyber fraudsters after the business became non-operational.

The case came to light on Nov 7 last year, when a 42-year-old woman from Vasant Kunj lodged a complaint stating that she was cheated of Rs 15.58 lakh on the pretext of stock market investment. According to police, the woman was contacted and offered “expert guidance” and assured high returns. She was subsequently induced to transfer money to accounts controlled by the syndicate."During investigation, the trail first led to Sunil in Telangana, who allegedly arranged mule current accounts on commission by opening a fake firm in Keesara and securing a current account in a bank. His associate Shankar was arrested next, followed by Manoj Yadav, who tested the account in Lucknow before passing it on further," DCP (south west) Amit Goel said. Further raids were conducted in Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and Delhi, leading to the arrest of the remaining accused. "Aditya Pratap Singh coordinated the supply of mule accounts across India and shared their access with foreign handlers via Telegram. The cheated funds were layered through multiple accounts held by Sompal and Rahul, to make tracing difficult," DCP Goel said. Investigators recovered 10 smartphones and 13 SIM cards allegedly used to operate mule accounts, transfer funds and communicate with overseas handlers.