New Delhi, Nov 24 (IANS) In a significant breakthrough against cyber-enabled financial crime, the Cyber Cell of the Crime Branch, Delhi Police on Monday arrested key accused individuals and dismantled a pan-India stock market investment fraud worth Rs 1.6 crore, officials said.

According to a statement issued by the Crime Branch, the primary accused has been identified as Sunil Kumar, Director of a bogus company named GTR Electronics Pvt. Ltd. In a parallel development, a husband–wife duo running another fake entity, ‘Udyam Women Empowerment Foundation,’ was arrested from Thane, Maharashtra.

Investigators linked 13 NCRP (National Cybercrime Reporting Portal) complaints to GTR Electronics, amounting to Rs 88,40,700, while 45 additional NCRP complaints were connected to the Udyam Women Empowerment Foundation, totalling Rs 22,00,700.

The arrests came after Delhi Police uncovered a multilayered stock market investment scam that operated through fraudulent pre-IPO offers, high-return investment traps, and fake foreign exchange trading platforms. Victims from across India were targeted through social media, where they were lured into depositing money into bank accounts associated with the fake firms.

The case originated when a complainant approached the Cyber Cell, reporting a loss of Rs 1.6 crore. He had been enticed by a woman through social media to invest in what was presented as a legitimate UK-based trading platform, Spreadex Global Ltd., which later turned out to be fraudulent.

A detailed financial investigation traced Rs 15,00,000 to the account of GTR Electronics Pvt. Ltd. and another Rs 11,00,000 deposited into the bank account of the Udyam Women Empowerment Foundation. The Thane-based couple, Vishal Choure and his wife, were operating these accounts to receive and funnel proceeds of cybercrime.

Police said a fake office for GTR Electronics was established in Shakarpur, East Delhi, using forged documents. This office existed only to give legitimacy to the fraudulent enterprise and to layer the illegal funds.

Following the financial trail, the Crime Branch conducted coordinated raids in Ballabgarh and Thane. The teams arrested Sunil Kumar, along with Vishal Choure and his wife, who jointly operated the fraudulent bank accounts used for receiving the scammed money.

During interrogation, Sunil Kumar revealed that he registered GTR Electronics Pvt. Ltd. with associates and rented the Shakarpur office to portray the company as a genuine electronics business. He admitted that all company documents and credentials were handed over to his associates, who managed the fraudulent transactions.

The operation was executed by a team led by Inspector Manjeet Kumar, consisting of Sub-Inspector Parvesh Kumar, ASI Kanwarpal, Head Constables Vipin, Manish, and Vinod, working under the supervision of ACP Anil Sharma. Officials said the team meticulously examined digital footprints and financial records to crack the case.

Further investigation is ongoing to identify and apprehend other members of the syndicate and to establish the complete financial trail used for routing the cheated funds.

–IANS

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