Rajasthan Police have uncovered a massive online investment fraud, arresting five members of a racket accused of cheating over three lakh people nationwide of more than Rs3,500 crore.
The arrests were made in Bharatpur following an investigation initiated by a complaint filed earlier this month. The FIR, registered on November 12 at Mathura Gate police station, alleged that a website ‘gqcw.cn’ and its associated mobile app lured investors with promises of high returns through cryptocurrency and foreign exchange trading.
Police investigations revealed that the platform was unregistered with SEBI, RBI, the Ministry of Corporate Affairs, or any other regulatory body. Though the accused claimed operations had been active in Russia since 2016, the actual operations reportedly began in Jaipur in 2022.
Two of the accused, Sandeep Sigar and Rajat Sharma, were allegedly central to establishing and running the network. The syndicate also operated another platform, ‘pvp.com’, which allegedly defrauded around 9,000 users of over USD 58 million (more than Rs500 crore).
Searches conducted by the police led to the seizure of Rs40 lakh in cash, gold jewellery, five luxury cars, and cryptocurrency worth approximately Rs40 lakh.
The arrests were made under the Banning of Unregulated Deposit Schemes (BNS) Act, 2019, and authorities are continuing investigations into fund flows, digital assets, and potential overseas links.
