Delhi: Man held for duping investors of over Rs 48 lakh via fake trading app

Delhi : A 29-year-old man was arrested in Maharashtra’s Palghar district for allegedly duping investors in Delhi’s Outer North region of more than Rs 48 lakh through a fake trading application, police said on Tuesday.

The accused, Jitendra Sharma, was apprehended from the Vangaon area after an investigation linked him to multiple cyber fraud complaints. Posing as a representative of a reputed financial services firm, Sharma reportedly enticed victims to invest through a bogus trading platform designed to mimic the interface of legitimate applications.

According to Deputy Commissioner of Police (Outer North) Nidhin Valsan, Sharma operated as the Managing Director of a private firm and provided its bank accounts for the fraudulent transactions, earning a commission in return. “His bank accounts were connected to at least 46 complaints registered on the National Cybercrime Reporting Portal (NCRP),” Valsan said.

The case came to light on March 17 after a complaint was filed by Vinay Singhal. During the investigation, police uncovered three additional cases with a similar modus operandi: victims were persuaded to transfer funds to various accounts under the belief they were making genuine investments.

“The accused used shell companies and purchased dormant bank accounts to swiftly route the money, making it harder to trace,” Valsan added. Sharma had previously been arrested in a cyber fraud case in Faridabad and was currently out on bail.

In one instance, the complainant was asked to download a customised trading application that falsely promised high returns. Believing the app to be legitimate, he transferred large sums of money into multiple accounts linked to Sharma.

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Sharma was nabbed during a raid on May 16. The police recovered four mobile phones, a laptop, Rs 80,000 in cash, two debit cards, two pen drives containing transaction records, a watch, a company stamp, cheque books, and a bank passbook.

“Key breakthroughs were made through analysis of digital footprints and Know Your Customer (KYC) documents,” Valsan said.

Efforts are ongoing to identify other members of the network and trace the siphoned funds.

(With inputs from PTI)