Ashok could see the money in his wallet and the returns pouring in. Tanvi then asked Ashok to make a final deposit of Rs 57 lakh, which she said was the tax
Ashok Kumar, an advocate and a property dealer from Goyla Khurd in Dwarka, got a call on February 28 from an employee of a company, promising lucrative stock market returns on investments.
By March 27, his account was drained of Rs 64.75 lakh, with no sign of its return.
On Friday, the Delhi Police said it has arrested two men, busting a module of cyber frauds linked with Chinese groups, duping people in the name of online trading.
Story continues below this ad
On February 28, a woman who called herself Tanvi, an employee of the company, told Ashok that he could earn overwhelming returns in online trading — if he invested the right amount. All he had to do, she said, was to install a Demat app using a link she sent on WhatsApp. Ashok obliged and was given a wallet on the app with an ID and password to deposit the money.
According to the FIR, Ashok told the police that on February 28, he first deposited Rs 50,000 in the wallet. A day later, Rs 60,000 were credited in the wallet. Ashok was ecstatic and ready to pour in more money.
He was asked by Tanvi to start transferring money to multiple bank accounts, the profits on which, she said, would be credited to his wallet. Ashok transferred Rs 64.75 lakh in five bank accounts, with the largest transaction of Rs 32 lakh being made on March 27 in a bank account opened in the name of a company.
Ashok could see the money in his wallet and the returns pouring in. Tanvi then asked Ashok to make a final deposit of Rs 57 lakh, which she said was the tax that needed to be paid for his “winnings” in the online trade.
Story continues below this ad
According to the FIR, Ashok told the police that he couldn’t pay, as he had already drained all his savings. Tanvi then told Ashok that the tax was a necessity if he ever wanted to access the wallet.
Ashok realised he had been scammed. He never heard from Tanvi again.
On April 2, Ashok’s case reached the IFSO Special Cell. “A detailed analysis of the account statements revealed that the defrauded amount had been transferred into five bank accounts and subsequently funnelled into numerous other accounts,” DCP (IFSO) Hemant Tiwari said.
The police traced one of the account holders, Abdul Barik, who was arrested in Dwarka on May 3. Abdul said that he provided his account to Kewin alias Vaddoriya Kewin Mukeshbhai, who was arrested in Loni, Ghaziabad, the same day.
Story continues below this ad
Police said it came to light that Kewin used to allegedly sell the account details of people like Abdul to Chinese fraudsters. He is accused of procuring and selling bank accounts on commission, which were then used for laundering funds from scams.
Investigators revealed that the accused were receiving commissions in USDT (a cryptocurrency pegged to the US dollar) through an application, a globally used crypto exchange platform.
“Kewin was part of several Chinese Telegram groups. When he got Abdul’s account details, he put them on the group. Some translators translated his message into Chinese, after which the fraudsters contacted Abdul via a man named Akash Joshi. Kewin was paid in USDT, credited to his wallet, by the Chinese. Abdul’s fees were also transferred to Akash Joshi in USDT, who converted it into cash to pay Abdul,” an officer said.
Kewin, police said, was arrested last year in Gujarat in a digital arrest case. After being released on bail, he came to Loni. The police are now looking for Akash Joshi, the third accused in the case, said officers.
