A 20-year-old man was arrested on Thursday for his alleged involvement in a Rs 3 crore fake online investment scam operated through a fraudulent stock trading platform, police officials said.
According to investigators, the cyber crime police station registered a complaint on November 20 after a victim reported being cheated by fraudsters posing as investment advisors. The complainant stated that a woman befriended him on Facebook and persuaded him to invest in a fake trading platform, promising unusually high returns in a short period.
Believing the assurances, the victim transferred nearly Rs 3 crore into multiple bank accounts before realising he had been defrauded.
Following the complaint, an FIR was registered under Sections 318(4) (cheating) and 319(2) (cheating by personation) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), along with Section 66D of the Information Technology Act. Police promptly froze the bank accounts connected to the scam.
During the probe, investigators traced approximately Rs 1 crore to a bank account linked to Amendra Shakya, a resident of Badaun, Uttar Pradesh, who was arrested on Thursday. Earlier, two other accused — Tejpal and Rupendra — had already been arrested in connection with the case.
DCP (Cyber) Shavya Goyal said that during interrogation, Shakya revealed that his neighbour Tejpal had lured him with a commission-based offer. Tejpal allegedly promised him easy earnings in exchange for providing a current bank account to route funds.
Shakya reportedly handed over his personal documents, which were used to create a GST-registered firm and open the account. In return, he was paid Rs 1 lakh. Police found that around Rs 1 crore was deposited into the account during the operation of the scam.
Further investigation revealed that five complaints filed on the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal (NCRP) from Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka, and Telangana have been linked to the same account.
Police officials said further investigation is underway to identify other members of the scam network and recover additional funds.
