The Uttar Pradesh Special Task Force dismantled two major investment fraud schemes involving share market and cryptocurrency scams, leading to arrests and exposing a complex web of deceit.
The Uttar Pradesh Special Task Force (STF) has busted two major fraud rackets involving multi-crore swindles in fake share market investments, cryptocurrency and forex schemes, officials said on Thursday.
In one of the cases, the Special Task Force (STF) arrested Rupesh Bhardwaj, 26, a resident of Sahibabad in Ghaziabad, from Gurugram on Wednesday.
He was charged duping investors with promises of high returns in the share market and IPOs, following a complaint from the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI).
Bhardwaj operated a firm named X Traders Enterprises, which is not registered with SEBI, and used fake share certificates and documents to gain investors' trust. He shut down his Ghaziabad office and went into hiding in Gurugram as complaints mounted, the officials said.
During his arrest, the police seized forged Aadhaar cards, four mobile phones, a PAN card, bank passbooks, and bank statements.
Investigations revealed that around 14 cyber fraud complaints had been registered against him across several states, including Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Rajasthan, Gujarat, and Puducherry.
In a separate operation, the STF arrested Jatindra Ram, 41, a resident of Yamunanagar, Haryana, and the alleged kingpin of a multi-crore cryptocurrency and foreign exchange investment fraud.
Jatindra Ram was nabbed on Wednesday evening from a restaurant on Delhi Road in Saharanpur in connection with a case registered at Masuri Police Station in Ghaziabad.
Officials said Jatindra Ram lured investors into an online trading company named 'Sea Prime Capital' by promising high returns in cryptocurrency and USDT, using advertisements, social media campaigns and seminars to attract investors.
During interrogation, Jatindra Ram revealed that he and his associates - Mohit Rana, Gaurav Singh, Geeta Hazarika - operated a well-organised network with over 3,500 agents across the country, creating more than 30,000 user IDs, and managing funds totaling Rs 700-800 crore.
The STF said the gang used a trading application called MT-5, which is not authorised in India, to create fake user accounts and display inflated profits to mislead investors.
Some victims were given initial returns to build trust and encourage further investments.
The collected funds were allegedly converted into cryptocurrency and transferred to accounts in Dubai and Mauritius, where the money was used to buy assets.
The accused created shell companies in India to launder the proceeds and present them as legitimate income.
Jatindra Ram was booked under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002, and the Foreign Exchange Management Act, 2000.