The Noida Police Cybercrime Branch on Thursday arrested a 29-year-old man in connection with a Rs1.39 crore fraud that took place in July 2024. The accused, identified as Raju Kewat, a resident of Morena, Madhya Pradesh, was apprehended in Noida. In addition, Kewat’s Mumbai bank account was frozen, where approximately ₹14 lakh was found.
The victim, an IT engineer residing in a high-rise in Greater Noida, reported the incident to the police. According to the engineer’s complaint, he was added to a WhatsApp group in the first week of July, where the group members shared financial advice, particularly related to commodity trading in gold.
Over the course of two months, an investigation led the police to Kewat, who was found to be in contact with a network of cybercriminals. He reportedly assisted them by providing Indian bank accounts to facilitate fraudulent transactions.
The victim was instructed to trade in gold through a provided bank account and was initially promised high returns. Over 27 transactions between July 1 and July 30, the victim lost a staggering Rs1.39 crore. Despite this, the fraudsters lured the victim by showing inflated profits. When the victim’s cumulative returns supposedly reached Rs8.6 crore, he was asked to pay an additional 20% settlement fee, amounting to approximately Rs1.33 crore.
Upon requesting that the settlement fee be deducted from the supposed profit, the victim was instead instructed to pay the amount upfront. This prompted the victim to realize that he had been trapped in a scam. On August 10, a formal complaint was filed, leading to a detailed investigation and the registration of a case under various sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and IT Act at the Cybercrime Branch police station on October 22.
This scam highlights the growing trend of fraudulent schemes operating through messaging platforms like WhatsApp, where victims are lured into high-risk investments based on false promises of substantial returns, only to lose their money. The police are continuing their investigation to track down additional suspects involved in the scam.