Ahmedabad: The Cyber Centre of Excellence arrested five members of an alleged cyberfraud syndicate that duped an Ahmedabad resident of Rs 2.3 crore through a fake forex investment scheme initiated on a matrimonial platform. Investigators said the bank account used in the fraud was also linked to 31 cybercrime complaints across India involving transactions worth more than Rs 15.3 crore, pointing to a larger interstate and cross-border network.According to police, the complainant came into contact with a woman identifying herself as “Jigyasha Kapoor” on a matrimonial platform. After gaining the victim’s confidence, she shifted the conversation to the Dilsafar application and introduced him to forex trading through the RoboForex platform, promising lucrative returns.To establish credibility, the victim was first persuaded to invest Rs 50,000 and was allowed to withdraw a small profit. Police said the success of the initial transaction convinced the complainant that the investment was genuine.The fraudsters then allegedly directed the victim through Telegram to transfer larger sums into multiple bank accounts. Investigators said the complainant transferred Rs 1.5 crore and was shown fabricated profits on the trading portal. Subsequently, access to the account was blocked and the victim was told to pay another Rs 83 lakh to “unlock” it. Additional payments were allegedly demanded as withdrawal charges, but no money was ever returned, resulting in a total loss of Rs 2.3 crore.Police identified the arrested accused as Raj Padsala of Anand and Rajkot residents Yagnik Ramani, Laxman Vaghela, homeopath Jaydipkumar Ardesana and Sagar Gokani. According to investigators, Padsala opened a bank account in the name of RP Chemicals and handed over the account kit to the other accused in exchange for commission. The account allegedly passed through several intermediaries before reaching cyber fraudsters operating from Nepal through contacts in Delhi.A search on the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal (NCCRP) revealed that the RP Chemicals account has figured in 31 cyberfraud cases involving transactions exceeding Rs 15.3 crore. Police seized seven mobile phones along with forged Aadhaar and PAN cards and are investigating the syndicate’s interstate and cross-border links.
