Trading app racket busted, 3 arrested in Ludhiana

Ludhiana, May 16

The Police Commissionerate of Ludhiana has busted an online trading app fraud. The app, initially registered under the entertainment category, was being illegally used as an online trading platform.

Commissioner of Police Mandeep Singh Sidhu and Additional DCP Rupinder Bhatti, at a press conference today, said the arrested accused included mastermind Anil Jain (40) of Bawa Colony, Karamjit Kaur (31) of Malerkotla and Sunny Kumar (37) of Haibowal. Jatin Jain (brother of Anil) of Bawa Colony and Gagandeep Singh of Daad village were still at large. They own office ‘Vardhman Commodities and Securities’ at Feroze Gandhi Market here.

Sidhu said the Ludhiana Cyber Cell, while investigating a complaint, collected the technical information regarding the financial fraud, ultimately leading to the exposure of a scam through an app V-Trade. Explaining the modus operandi, he said the accused promised victims substantial profits through online trading.

To deceive their victims, the accused would request two cheques from each customer before providing them with an ID and password to access the app. Subsequently, the victims would hand over cash and the app would display equivalent dummy figures in their account. However, in reality, no trading occurred on any exchange, Sidhu said.

Sidhu cited a case where the accused convinced a victim that he was generating significant earnings through the app. When the customer demanded the returns, the accused would change his ID and password, subsequently convincing him into making further payments to prevent the misuse of their cheques.

The accused fleeced the complainant of Rs 15 lakh.

ADCP Rupinder Bhatti said the V-Trade app was categorised as “entertainment” on the app store and primarily targeted students for training purposes. Even five-star ranking of the app was obtained by the accused.

Items seized

• Rs 40.62 lakh and 135 cheques for Rs 3.01 crore
• Five laptops, six desktops and seven cellphones
• A total of 62 gold and diamond articles
• One Mercedes, one Ciaz, RC of a Harley Davidson