RANCHI: Jharkhand’s Crime Investigation Department (CID) has unearthed a massive online fraud in which unsuspecting investors across the country were duped of crores of rupees through a fake trading app named “Cantillon”, officials said.
Acting on a complaint, the CID’s Cyber Crime Cell arrested a 19-year-old youth, identified as Yashvardhan Kumar, from Deoghar city of Jharkhand on Friday.
Originally from Gaya ji in Bihar, he had been living in Deoghar and running the racket for quite some time.
According to police, Kumar lured victims through WhatsApp chats and persuaded them to invest in Cantillon with promises of lucrative returns. Once the money was transferred, the victims were shown fake profits on the app before losing access to their funds.
The racket first came to light after a victim filed a complaint on August 23, alleging he had been cheated of Rs 44 lakh.
The CID, during its technical probe, traced the fraud to Yashvardhan Kumar. During the arrest, police recovered a mobile phone, two SIM cards, incriminating chats, and bank account details.
The CID said the fraud is widespread, with the National Cybercrime Reporting Portal of the Ministry of Home Affairs registering 46 complaints against the accused.