Gujarat: Man Arrested in Cyber Fraud Cases as Bank Account Linked to Rs 7 Crore in Complaints

The Surat Cyber Crime Cell has arrested a 28-year-old man for allegedly providing a bank account used in two online investment fraud cases, with investigators tracing transactions worth Rs 2.72 crore through the account and identifying 37 complaints linked to it across different states.

The accused, identified as Ashwin Gohil, a resident of Vav in Bhavnagar district, was arrested following a technical investigation into two cases registered at the Surat Cyber Crime Police Station, police said on Friday.

According to police, the fraudsters allegedly lured the complainant’s son through WhatsApp groups by promising returns of up to 390 per cent on investments in the share market and a programme called “Brp Fund 100 Day Wealth Leap Program”.

In the first case, the accused allegedly used a WhatsApp group named “Brp Fund104 – Grow Together” to approach the victim and direct him to a fraudulent website, brp5.com. The website reportedly displayed fabricated profits to gain the victim’s confidence, following which he was persuaded to transfer Rs 5.99 lakh to various bank accounts.

In the second case, the fraudsters allegedly contacted the victim through a WhatsApp group named “BRP Fund-Grow Together-008” before directing him to another fake website, app.toloyyi.com. Police said the victim transferred Rs 19.60 lakh to different bank accounts in this case.

Separate cases were registered under relevant provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, including Sections 318(4), 336(2), 338, 336(3), 340(2), 61(2) and 3(5), along with Section 66(D) of the Information Technology Amendment Act, 2008.

During the investigation, police found that Gohil had allegedly obtained an ICICI Bank current account from previously arrested accused Satyajit Manjariya in exchange for a commission.

Gohil allegedly passed the account to Pankajkumar Ramani for Rs 3,000. Ramani then reportedly handed it over to Vivek Beldiya for Rs 5,000, who allegedly provided the account to an absconding accused for Rs 26,000 for use in cyber fraud.

Police said transactions totalling Rs 2,72,97,899.50 had been carried out through the ICICI Bank current account.

“A check of the account on the National Cybercrime Reporting Portal (NCRP) also revealed 37 complaints from different states, involving alleged fraud of Rs 7,01,47,845,” police said.

The three previously arrested accused have been identified as Satyajit Manjariya, 28, of Ahmedabad, originally from Amreli; Pankajkumar Ramani, 39, of Surat, originally from Rajkot district; and Vivek Beldiya, 30, of Surat, originally from Bhavnagar district.

The Cyber Crime Cell has appealed to the public not to hand over bank accounts to others in exchange for commissions. Police warned that such accounts could be used to facilitate cyber fraud and that account holders could face legal action for transactions conducted through them.