Lucknow, Aug 3 (PTI) The Uttar Pradesh Special Task Force has arrested a wanted cyber fraud accused from Maharashtra’s Nagpur in connection with an alleged multi-crore fake IPO investment scam that duped people through bogus social media advertisements and investment platforms, officials said on Monday.
The accused, identified as Anurag Arvind Srivastava, was wanted in a case registered at the Cyber Crime Police Station in Lucknow under various provisions of the BNS and the Information Technology Act.
According to the STF, the accused was arrested on July 31 from his residence in Nagpur. A laptop, an iPhone, three company seals, a Tata Nexon car, 139 documents related to different firms, six blank cheque books, two unsigned cheques worth Rs 3.17 crore and Rs 2.50 crore, a cancelled cheque and two SIM cards were recovered from his possession.
The STF alleged that the gang lured investors through fake advertisements on Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp offering stock market training and investment opportunities in initial public offerings (IPOs). Victims were added to WhatsApp groups where fabricated profit screenshots were shared to gain their confidence before they were persuaded to invest through a fake investment application.
The money deposited by investors was allegedly diverted to multiple bank accounts, while fictitious balances and profits were displayed on the application’s dashboard.
During interrogation, Srivastava allegedly told investigators that he had floated My Ground11 Gaming Zone Private Limited in 2022 along with his associates and was involved in transactions worth crores of rupees through the gaming platform and by cheating investors.
The STF said over 3,000 complaints against the syndicate have been registered on the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal, while about Rs 2 crore in bank accounts linked to the accused has been frozen. Efforts are underway to trace other accounts and arrest the remaining members of the gang, it added. PTI KIS SHS
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