New Delhi: Delhi Police have arrested a 32-year-old man, who was the handler of a bank account in which more than Rs 40 crore were deposited in less than 10 days by deceiving people on the pretext of giving exponential returns of 10 per cent on a daily basis, an official said on Saturday.
The accused has been identified as Akshay Sanjay Dhanuka, a resident of Thane in Maharashtra.
According to police, an FIR was lodged on the basis of the complaint by Prakash, who alleged that he came to know about a ‘GD Fund Application’, a ponzi scheme through one of his friends, which provided high returns on investments.
“He agreed and invested a small amount of Rs 300 first, on which he got a good return of 10 per cent the very next day. He was also able to withdraw the invested amount to his bank account. He increased his investment gradually and was able to withdraw small amounts to his bank account,” said Harendra Kumar Singh, the Deputy Commissioner of Police (Outer).
“But when he invested further, he found that on March 1, 2023, the application had stopped working and found that he had been cheated of Rs 21,300,” said the DCP.
Investigation revealed that Rs 6,300 out of the cheated amount of Rs 21,300 were deposited in PNB Bank account in the name of Bhoomi Infratech, a proprietorship firm.
“The email ID and phone number connected to said bank account were analysed and the operator of the said beneficiary bank, Akshay was traced from Paschim Vihar, Delhi and arrested in the case,” said the DCP.
During interrogation, it was learnt that the victims were lured and contacted through Telegram or WhatsApp to create an account on a fake website or download an application operated by the fraudsters from abroad.
“The fraudsters initially give high returns on small investments of Rs 100 to Rs 1000. The victims are also able to remit the return to their bank accounts. This is done to gain the confidence of the victims and to make them invest huge amounts. As the victim makes a high deposit into the scheme of fraudsters and makes more people join the scheme, the fraudsters abscond from the digital universe,” said the DCP, adding that further investigation of the case is in progress.
–IANS