Two men were arrested by the Crime Branch on Friday for their alleged involvement in a multi-crore stock market scam, .
According to the police, the matter came to light when the victims were cheated of nearly Rs 6 crore through fake IPO funding and stock market schemes.
“The two accused, named Kulwant Singh and Devender Singh, were arrested by the cyber cell for acting as account holders for organised cyber fraud syndicates,” a senior officer said.
They gave the victims’ bank details to an interstate cyber syndicate, which then diverted and laundered the victims’ funds through multiple channels.
The officer further added, “The syndicates lured the investors with false promises of IPO funding and high-return stock market schemes.”
The accused routed the fraudulent transactions amounting to Rs 20 lakh, out of a total of Rs 6 crore, through their account in Bank of Baroda registered under the name Akhil Bhartiya Gareeb Jan Seva Trust.
The Trust was formally registered with the Sub-Registrar as an NGO, and a current account was subsequently opened in its name for banking transactions. It was found to be connected with 10 complaints registered on the National Cybercrime Reporting Portal.
Their modus operandi included luring investors through fake trading applications and convincing them to join groups with promises of high returns. The syndicates approached the investors primarily via social media and WhatsApp.
When the victims tried to withdraw their money, they were intimidated and threatened that leaving the group would result in forfeiting their funds. Additionally, the proceeds were layered through multiple bank accounts to obscure their origin.
During interrogation, the Crime Branch identified 30 first-layer bank accounts, including that of Akhil Bhartiya Gareeb Jan Seva Trust (Bank of Baroda). The Trust’s account was being used as a key laundering channel, with Rs 20 lakh traced to it so far.