Man held in Delhi for ‘cheating’ investors through online investment schemes

The Delhi Police’s Economic Offences Wing (EOW) has arrested a man for allegedly cheating 21 investors of more than Rs 3.78 crore by luring them into online investment schemes, an officer said on Monday.

Police said the accused, identified as Rahul Pal, a law graduate from Kanpur in Uttar Pradesh, allegedly promised investors returns of up to 10 per cent per month for 25 months.

“He was posing as a facilitator, deposit collector and promotional agent of a private limited company for the past six years. A case was registered on the basis of complaints from multiple victims,” the EOW said in a statement.

Pal and his associates allegedly lured the complainants to invest in schemes named “Mobi-cryp”, “Tornado” and “Tether Club”, promising “exceptionally high” monthly returns.

The accused initially paid returns for a few months to gain the confidence of investors and subsequently persuaded them to reinvest the returns and bring in more investors, it read.

Later, Pal allegedly stopped paying and refused to return the promised profits or the principal amounts. He subsequently became untraceable.

According to police, Pal approached a court seeking anticipatory bail, but his plea was dismissed, following which he allegedly attempted to flee the country.

“He was intercepted at an airport and arrested,” it said.