UP Police busts online fraud of Rs 3,700 crore: All you need to know

Noida: The Uttar Pradesh Police has busted a gang of fraudsters who allegedly cheated seven lakh people to the tune of Rs 3,700 crore through an online trading site.

Three persons - Anubhav Mittal, Sridhar Prasad, and Mahesh Dayal – were arrested from Sector 63 in Noida on Wednesday.

Here is what you should know about the case:

• The accused used to run a portal 'socialtrade.biz' under which an investor had to pay anything between Rs 5,750 to Rs 57,500 in the company's account to become the member and earn Rs 5 per click.
• Registered under the name of Ablaze Info Solutions Pvt Ltd in Noida, the accused used to constantly change the portal's name. So far, they defrauded over 6.5 lakh people collecting around Rs 3,700 crore, Superintendent of Police (Uttar Pradesh STF) Triveni Singh, told news agency IANS.
• Launched in August 2015, the portal offered four different ‘packages' to the investors to earn money. After paying the money to the company, the investors were asked to like pages and click on the links they were sent.
• "The company claimed it earned Rs 6 for every click and gave Rs 5 of it to the investors. However, the links sent by the company were fake," said Triveni Singh, adding police were looking for other people suspected to be involved in the fraud.
• The Special Task Force (STF) of Uttar Pradesh Police has sealed the bank accounts of the company, which had a total balance of Rs 500 crore. Police have also seized various documents including the balance sheet of the company, list of directors and other officials and list of investors.
• The STF has also informed the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), the Income Tax department and market regulator SEBI about the case. 
• Some of the members had complained against the company at Noida Phase 3 and Surajpur police stations in Greater Noida following which the action was taken.
• Mittal, said to be the kingpin, holds a B.Tech degree and hails from Ghaziabad. Prasad is from Visakhapatnam and Dayal is from Mathura in Uttar Pradesh.

(With Agency inputs)