Ahmedabad Cyber Crime Branch has arrested four people in an alleged online investment fraud case involving ₹67.92 lakh, while investigators have identified more than 80 complaints across over 15 states and suspected financial transactions exceeding ₹50 crore linked to the network.
According to the police investigation, the accused contacted the complainant through WhatsApp and persuaded the person to invest through fake mobile applications named JB X One, or JB1, and ID-QSB. The applications were allegedly presented as being connected to the foreign financial institution Julius Baer.
Police said the suspects used a forged Securities and Exchange Board of India certificate to build trust and promised returns ranging from 5% to 20% a day. When the complainant tried to withdraw the invested money, the accused allegedly demanded additional payments in the name of a 20% short-term capital gains tax and a 4% cess.
The four arrested accused have been identified as Ishtiaq Yusuf Riawala, Sohaib Jojawarwala, Shehzad Ajmerwala and Irfan Sheikh. They were detained from Ahmedabad and Vadodara after a technical and field-based investigation, the report said.
Police recovered more than 30 bank account kits from Ishtiaq, according to the investigation. These kits are being examined as part of the probe into how bank accounts were allegedly collected and used to route funds from victims.
Ahmedabad Cyber Crime DCP Lavina Sinha said a woman posing as an employee of ICICI Securities had contacted the complainant through a WhatsApp group and encouraged further investment. The police are investigating the alleged use of false identities and financial brands to make the operation appear legitimate.
Investigators said the local network allegedly obtained bank accounts from ordinary people in exchange for commissions and sent the account kits to the suspected principal operators based in Dubai. The commission was reportedly fixed at 10% to 15% for each kit. Police said Sohaib and Ishtiaq were in direct contact with the alleged Dubai-based operators and managed the local network.
The case has also brought attention to the operational structure behind digital investment fraud, in which fake applications, forged regulatory documents, messaging platforms and third-party bank accounts are allegedly combined to move money across jurisdictions. The police have not yet disclosed the identities of the suspected principal operators or the total amount finally established as fraud in the case.
Ahmedabad Cyber Crime Branch is continuing its investigation into the alleged international racket, the other people involved and the financial transactions connected to the seized bank account kits.
