The Gujarat Police’s Cyber Centre of Excellence apprehended five individuals involved in a cyber fraud ring during ‘Operation Mule Hunt 2.0’. The suspects are accused of deceiving a victim of Rs 2.30 crore through a counterfeit forex trading scheme operated on RoboForex platform. The fraud initiated when the victim was contacted on the Dilsafar app by someone posing as “Jigyasha Kapoor” after an interaction on a matrimonial site.
The victim was lured into believing that substantial profits could be made by following forex trading advice provided by the fraudsters. The accused advised the victim to create an account on the RoboForex website and invest an initial amount of Rs 50,000. To build trust, the victim was allowed to withdraw profits from the first investment. Subsequently, the victim was directed to transfer funds to various bank accounts via Telegram, resulting in a total transfer of Rs 1.47 crore.
The suspects allegedly displayed significant profits on the trading platform before informing the victim that the RoboForex account had been locked. They demanded an additional Rs 83 lakh to unlock the account and later requested more payments under the guise of withdrawal fees. The victim, under false pretenses, invested a total of Rs 2.30 crore, which was never refunded. Authorities highlighted that the accused collaborated in a criminal conspiracy to defraud the victim.
One of the arrested individuals, Raj Padsala, purportedly opened a bank account under his firm, R.P. Chemicals, for the fraudulent activities. The investigation revealed a network involving multiple individuals who facilitated the movement and disposal of fraud proceeds. The funds were allegedly routed through Nepal for diversion and disposal. The police also discovered that the R.P. Chemicals account was linked to 31 cyber fraud complaints across India, totaling over Rs 15.31 crore.
During the operation, law enforcement seized seven mobile phones and two forged identity documents. The arrested individuals, including Raj Padsala, Yagnik Ramani, Laxman Vaghela, Dr. Jaydipkumar Ardeshna, and Sagar Gokani, are currently in custody. The investigation into the case is ongoing.
