Bhubaneswar, Oct 30: In a major crack down on a fraudulent investment racket named ‘Kotak Investment Club’, the Odisha Crime Branch has arrested 24 persons in connection with a Rs 6.28 crore fraud.
Of the fraud involving worth Rs 6.28 crore, the Crime Branch Sleuths have recovered Rs 6.8 lakh which has been refunded to the duped investors, said ADG Crime Branch Vinaytosh Mishra.
The Crime Branch said in a release on Wednesday that cyber frauds swindled Rs 6.28 crore from unsuspecting people inviting investments under a fake WhatsApp group – ‘Kotak Investment Club’.
After receiving money from the investors, the fraudsters used to remove them from the WhatsApp group and withdraw the looted money within two-three days by distributing the amount to over 100 other bank accounts, sources informed.
Acting on the complaint lodged by a victim, the Crime Branch swung into action and formed seven teams to crack the inter-state cyber fraud group. The teams arrested nine accused from Tamil Nadu, eight from Gujarat and seven from Rajasthan.
Explaining the modus operandi of the fraudsters, Crime Branch ADG Vinaytosh Mishra said the arrested persons are not the kingpins; they can be termed as foot soldiers. After duping people, the kingpin of the cyber fraud used to distribute the money to the accounts of the foot soldiers and withdraw the money. The kingpin used to give them some commission.
As the group was operating pan India, it was difficult for the investigating agencies to nab them. “We have sent our teams and arrested them tracking their live locations. Further investigation into the matter is on,” Mishra added.
During the course of the investigation, the Crime Branch has managed to freeze Rs 16.85 lakh from the several bank accounts of the arrested accused and returned Rs 6.8 lakh to the victims, the Crime Branch added.
