The Delhi Police’s Cyber Police Station has busted an alleged interstate investment fraud and mule bank account network, arresting nine people from Maharashtra, Gujarat, Kerala and Punjab. They say the network is linked to 34 cybercrime complaints of fraudulent transactions worth more than ₹15.71 crore. Seven cases in Delhi involving ₹2.70 crore are also under investigation.
Police are also looking into this network’s overseas connections, and the network operators in Dubai and Qatar are also now being probed.
The case originated when a resident of Palam Colony in New Delhi came to the attention of the police after an alleged investment scam. The victim was added to WhatsApp groups that were presented as investment-learning communities and special stock-market programmes, investigators said. Members of the network then appeared to be market analysts and investment professionals and presented fake trading sessions, fabricated success stories and claims of high returns to gain the victim’s confidence.
After contacting the victim, the accused told the victim to invest money through a fraudulent trading app. The app showed investment gains and trading information to the victim that made the transactions appear genuine. Police said that the victim transferred approximately ₹4.82 lakh through different bank accounts of the network.
The fraudsters initially let the victim withdraw a small amount, the investigators said. Such a move may suggest that an investment platform is legitimate and that victims will transfer more money into it. After the first transaction, the victim was asked to pay another ₹7.81 lakh in the name of an IPO allotment. The demand raised suspicion, and the victim reported the matter to the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal.
Following the complaint, an FIR was registered and investigators began tracing the movement of funds. Rather than focusing only on the account that initially received the money, police examined the wider financial trail to locate beneficiary accounts, intermediaries and individuals who are allegedly responsible for providing mule accounts.
The investigation involved bank records, mobile phone data, WhatsApp conversations and other digital evidence. Police allegedly found that the money flowed through several bank and current accounts opened in the names of shell business entities and were used to layer transactions and make it more difficult to trace the original source of the funds.
The financial trail apparently led police to Nandurbar in Maharashtra, where Shoeb Dilavar Saiyyad was arrested. Police allegedly found digital evidence from his mobile phone, including chats that investigators said could help establish links between different members of the network.
Police said the questioning of Saiyyad revealed a wider network in which people were creating businesses and opening current accounts in Kerala. It was said that the suspects were connected through a WhatsApp group named “Brotherhood,” where bank account information was shared among the members.
The investigation then led to arrests in Gujarat. Four people Shaikh Riyazuddin Imtiyaz, Kamalsha Kadarshah, Siddiki Mahamadsiddik Mufidbhai and Hamza Humayu were arrested in connection with the alleged network. Police suspect that they provided current accounts to the network in exchange for payments. Some members also went to Kerala to meet other people involved in the operation.
Two other accused, Muzamil Thaib and Jamaluddin Faisal, were arrested in Kerala, and Sarabjit Singh and Sonia Sharma were arrested in Punjab. The investigation has exposed the interstate nature of the alleged operation and the role of different individuals at different stages of the financial fraud.
The network allegedly created business entities and opened bank accounts in their names before giving up account kits and banking credentials to operators. The accounts were then used to receive and move money allegedly obtained from victims of cyber fraud.
Police said Muzamil Thaib was involved in identifying potential account holders, arranging accommodation and sharing bank account and OTP-related information. Jamaluddin Faisal also helped set up firms and open bank accounts, police said. The investigation is still ongoing to determine the exact responsibilities of each individual and whether others were involved.
The investigation has also raised some questions about international links. The police found information indicating that Jamaluddin Faisal had prior contact with people connected to the network in Qatar, and that he had been in contact with individuals in the network. The investigators are also investigating the role of Sam or Sameer, a person who is believed to be operating from Dubai.
The roles of other individuals identified as Riya, Sam and Farhaz, along with a suspected bank employee, are being verified through financial records and digital evidence.
Eight mobile phones were recovered from the accused. The devices contained WhatsApp conversations, banking records, KYC documents, account-opening forms, digital credentials and transaction-related information, police said. Such digital evidence could help investigators identify communication patterns, identify additional beneficiaries and determine how the alleged fraud network coordinated its activities.
Investigators believe the alleged group used a familiar investment scam model. Victims were approached through WhatsApp investment groups that appeared to offer stock-market education or specialized investment opportunities. Fake trading applications then allegedly displayed fabricated profits, creating the impression that the victim’s money was growing.
The alleged fraud was compounded when victims attempted to withdraw their funds. Instead of allowing withdrawals, operators allegedly demanded additional payments under different pretexts, including taxes, brokerage charges, IPO fees, account-verification charges, processing fees and margin requirements. Each new demand could persuade victims to transfer additional money while giving them the impression that the funds would eventually be released.
Police suspect that money received from victims was subsequently transferred through several current accounts associated with shell businesses. This layering process allegedly helped obscure the movement of funds and separate the original victim transaction from accounts controlled by other members of the network.
The investigation has expanded beyond the original complaint. Police have reportedly linked 27 additional complaints registered through the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal to the network, bringing the total number of cybercrime complaints connected to the alleged operation to 34. The total fraudulent transactions associated with these complaints are estimated to exceed ₹15.71 crore.
There are seven cases registered in Delhi alone involving around ₹2.70 crore, and they are now under investigation by investigators. Police are expected to analyze the financial trails in these cases to determine whether the same individuals, accounts, shell companies or digital platforms were used. The case also demonstrates the rise of online investment fraud. Cybercriminals are increasingly using social media and messaging platforms to identify potential victims and establish credibility before asking them to transfer money. Fake applications can also be used to reinforce the illusion of genuine trading, as the profile of financial data on the screen (account balances, account balances, account balances in balance and stock report) for which the trade is actually made up.
Investors are advised by experts and law enforcement agencies to independently verify investment platforms and financial professionals before they transfer money. Unsolicited invitations to WhatsApp investment groups, promises of unusually high returns and demands for additional payments before withdrawals are important warning signs. Investors should also not share banking credentials, OTPs, passwords or other sensitive information with unknown individuals.
Delhi Police’s probe is not limited to the nine arrests. It’s still looking into the alleged international connections, other facilitators, and money related to the complaints. The suspected involvement of overseas operators in Dubai and Qatar may make the investigation more complex and may require coordination with other agencies if evidence confirms cross-border operations.
The arrests are obviously a very important step in the investigation but police are still working to determine the entire structure of the alleged network. Financial records, digital devices, communication histories and forensic evidence will likely play an important role in determining the roles of the accused persons and identifying any additional members.
As digital investment scams get more organized in the world, law-enforcement agencies are looking at not only the fraudsters that are committing the fraud, but the mule-account networks and financial channels that allow stolen money to travel across borders in addition to money to be transferred from one country to another.
The investigation is ongoing and more arrests or recoveries are still to be made as police follow the financial trail and investigate suspected overseas links.
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