NEW DELHI, Dec. 8 -- The Delhi Police has arrested three men allegedly involved in operating a cyber fraud network posing as representatives of SEBI-registered stockbrokers that facilitated a pan-India investment scam amounting to nearly Rs 50 lakh, an official said on Monday.
The accused, identified as Pravash Chandra Panda (43), and his nephews Pritam Roshan Panda (27) and Sritam Roshan Panda (24), all residents of Odisha, are linked to 165 cybercrime complaints across the country, with financial trails indicating transactions worth Rs 6.33 crore,
they added.
The arrests were made during the investigation of a case registered in Dwarka, involving a complainant who was duped by fraudsters posing as representatives of SEBI-registered stockbrokers, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Crime) Aditya Gautam said.
The victim was induced to invest in secondary stocks, pre-IPO shares and off-market trades through manipulated trading interfaces and forged SEBI certificates, police said.
Trusting the claims, the complainant transferred Rs 49.73 lakh into multiple accounts later found to be mule accounts operated by a coordinated group based in Odisha. One such account, belonging to M/s Shriji Apparels, emerged as a primary channel for receiving and laundering the cheated money, the officer said.
Financial scrutiny revealed a structured network of shell entities, rapid ATM withdrawals and layered transfers used to disguise the movement of funds. No legitimate business activity was found for M/s Shriji Apparels, police said.
The accused operated the mule account, handled multiple bank passbooks, ATM cards and SIM cards, and coordinated the routing and withdrawal of funds. Digital evidence, including chats, confirmed their role in siphoning the victim's money, DCP Gautam said.
Searches at their premises led to the recovery of 17 mobile phones, 21 SIM cards, 124 debit and credit cards, 56 bank passbooks, 25 cheque books, registers with financial entries, two passports, QR codes and a cash counting machine.
Police said the syndicate was structured into tiers comprising front-end operators posing as investment consultants, business accounts for receiving deposits, mule accounts for layering, and cash handlers responsible for withdrawals and dispersal. Further investigation is underway.
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.