Delhi man linked to loan app scam arrested by Chandigarh police

Chandigarh, May 7

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The Cyber Crime Investigation Cell of the UT police has arrested a Delhi resident for helping a Chinese national and kingpin of the loan app-cum-extortion racket escape India.

So far, 34 persons have been arrested in the case. Earlier, 33 individuals, including a Chinese national, were arrested in connection with the scam.

Bharat Kumar (41), a resident of New Delhi, was directly in touch with the kingpin and had helped him escape India through Nepal.

The police said the suspect had worked in China from 2006 to 2011 and later returned to India. In 2016, he started a mobile accessories business in partnership with Chinese nationals in Delhi.

Bharat met Stark, a Chinese national, in 2022 through another Chinese friend Yao. Bharat took a flat on rent in his name for Stark in Gurgaon.

Bharat then incorporated a shell company, Alpha Genetech Pvt Ltd, which was registered for digital marketing and online dating application. Bharat and his wife became its directors. He along with three of his aides, two of whom were earlier arrested by the police, used the firm to convert rupees into US dollars and sent the money to Stark.

In July 2022, Bharat got alerted after the police cracked down on those running the instant loan app scam, following which Stark decided to flee the country. Bharat dropped him at the Nepal border, from where he fled. The police said Stark possessed a fake passport of Nepal. According to the police, Stark was operating the online loan application scam from China and Bharat had transferred to him money in US dollars using different crypto wallets.

The gang used to lure people by offering them instant loans. The victims were made to download the app through which the accused used to get access of their mobile phones. They then used victims’ pictures from the phone gallery and morph these to extort money.

“Around 60 people across the county had died by suicide after being blackmailed by the accused,” the police said.

The police had recovered Rs 17.31 lakh in cheated money from those arrested, while around Rs 60 lakh had been put on hold in different bank accounts.

Investigations had revealed the accused had laundered Rs 400 crore through various shell companies, bogus political parties and trusts. — TNS

Another Chinese suspect identified

One more Chinese national has been identified as a suspect in the scam. Proceedings to issue red corner notice against him are in progress.

Arrested persons facing 89 FIRs

As many as 1,578 complaints and 89 FIRs are registered against arrested persons, analysis of data of suspects shared with the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre has revealed.