NEW DELHI DEC 24 : Delhi Police’s Crime Branch arrested four individuals in connection with a pan-India online investment scam involving transactions worth Rs 7.16 crore linked to over 300 cybercrime complaints across the country. The operation represents a significant breakthrough in dismantling a coordinated cyber fraud syndicate operating through mule bank accounts.
The fraud came to light when a Delhi-based victim was duped of Rs 27.2 lakh after being added to fake investment groups showing fabricated profits. The fraudsters persuaded the victim to download a fraudulent trading application called ‘Conifer’ and invest in a fake IPO of a logistics firm. When the victim refused to invest further money, the app account was frozen, revealing the scam.
The four arrested individuals are Mayur Maruti Sanas and Gaurav Jadhav from Pune, along with Mohammed Yousuf Ali and Mohd Abrar Khan from Hyderabad. According to Deputy Commissioner of Police (Crime Branch) Aditya Gautam, the accused stayed together in a hotel in Pune and actively operated first-layer mule accounts for transferring defrauded amounts. Investigation revealed that one key account belonging to M/s Nexus-IN Broadband was used to receive and launder the cheated money, with funds rapidly layered through multiple transfers, ATM withdrawals, and additional mule accounts.
Police recovered electronic devices, banking instruments, and digital chats that corroborated the coordinated handling of fraud proceeds. Financial analysis showed no legitimate business activity linked to the accounts, with the syndicate using high-volume mule bank accounts to route and launder proceeds from more than 300 cybercrime complaints registered on the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal (NCRP). Further investigation is ongoing to identify other syndicate members and trace additional proceeds of crime.
