Four individuals have been arrested in connection with a pan-India online investment scam involving transactions totaling Rs7.16 crore, police said. The arrests came during the investigation of a case filed on November 3, in which a Delhi-based victim was defrauded of Rs27.2 lakh.
Deputy Commissioner of Police Aditya Gautam said the accused were part of a larger cybercrime syndicate that used high-volume mule accounts to launder funds linked to over 300 cybercrime complaints nationwide.
The victim reported being contacted online and added to fake investment groups, where fabricated profits were displayed. Police said the accused persuaded him to download a fraudulent trading app called Conifer and invest in a fake IPO of a logistics company. Believing the returns were genuine, the victim transferred Rs27.2 lakh to multiple accounts. When he refused further investment, his app account was frozen.
Investigators discovered that the beneficiary accounts were mule accounts managed by a coordinated group in Pune and Hyderabad. One key account, M/s Nexus-IN Broadband, was identified as a major channel for laundering the scammed funds. Financial analysis showed rapid layering through transfers, ATM withdrawals, and other mule accounts, with no legitimate business activity.
The arrested accused were Mayur Maruti Sanas and Gaurav Jadhav from Pune, and Mohammed Yousuf Ali and Mohd Abrar Khan from Hyderabad. Police said they stayed together in a hotel in Pune while operating the mule accounts to move defrauded funds further.
Authorities recovered electronic devices, banking instruments, and digital chats proving their coordinated operations. The investigation is ongoing to trace other syndicate members and additional proceeds of the crime.
Police have warned the public to exercise caution when investing online and to verify trading platforms before making transactions.
