Delhi Police arrested the mastermind of a Rs 500 crore scam that has victimized 30,000 people so far. An official said that social media influencers like Elvish Yadav, Abhishek Malhan, and Saurav Joshi promoted this investment-related app. The operation was conducted by the Intelligence Fusion and Strategic Operations Unit (IFSO), Special Cell of Delhi Police. Rs 18 crore was confiscated from four asserted bank accounts. The roles of Easebuzz and PhonePe are under probe as well.
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Defrauded over 30,000 people
Police pronounced that 127 complaints that have been filed to date were clubbed together. Two cases that had a connection with the ‘HIBOX’ app are being examined by IFSO. Police identified the accused as J. Sivaram, (30), a resident of Chennai. They trust that he is the main accused in a big scam that cheated over 30,000 people by luring them into investing in the ‘HIBOX’ app.
“The scam, costly at approximately Rs 500 crore, complicated hopeful extreme returns on investments, accompanying fake assurances of often interest rates varying from 1% to 5%. Many victims were tense through the publicity of the app by popular social media influencers and YouTubers.” DCP, IFSO, Dr. Hemant Tiwari pronounced.
Background of the case
On August 16, the police received a complaint from 29 victims against the ‘HIBOX’ app asserting that they had been seduced to purchase the app accompanying a promise of insurance consisting of 30% insignificant value to 90% insignificant value each month.
During the investigation, it was established that another case was recorded against the app in the North East Delhi district by 9 victims. Several different complaints too approached light from the inspection of the same modus operandi—30 from the northeast district, 35 complaints from the outer district, and 24 complaints from the Shahdara district. “Apart from these complaints, 488 complaints of similar modus operandi have been found linked on the National Cybercrime Reporting Portal,” an official pronounced.
Influencers promoted the app
Further, it was still asserted that many social media influencers and YouTubers—Saurav Joshi, Elvish Yadav, Abhishek Malhan alias Fukra Insaan, Purav Jha, Bharti Singh, Harsh Limbachiya, Lakshay Choudhary, Adarsh Singh, Amit alias Crazy XYZ, and Dilraj Singh Rawat alias Indian operator to promote the app and attracted the financiers to invest through the app, the DCP pronounced.
Notices have been issued to YouTubers — Abhishek Malhan, Elvish Yadav, Lakshay Choudhary, and Purav Jha to join the investigation. A case was recorded on August 20 under Sections 316(2), (criminal dishonesty), 318(4) (cheating), 61(2) (criminal conspiracy), and 3(5) (common intention) of the BNS and 71 IT Act (falsehood).
Easebuzz and PhonePe under scrutiny
Police assembled analyses of payment gateways and bank accounts involved in the fraud and established that aid from fee gateways Easebuzz and PhonePe was used to transfer the defrauded total to subsequent merchants, the official said. Their part is also being probed by Delhi Police.
In addition to these platforms, around 20 other firms are under scrutiny for allegedly laundering money connected to the scam. Tiwari indicated that these companies would likely be referred to the Enforcement Directorate for further investigation.
“Analysis of these undertakings influenced the group to identify four accounts that were used to pipe off the defrauded amount. On the support of technical analysis and surveillance, Sivaram was arrested.” DCP Tiwari pronounced. He said the whole amount (Rs 18 crore) of victims was located in four accounts of Sutrulla Xpress Private Limited registered in the name of accused J Sivaram (director). The office was registered in Chennai and leased by him by means of Sutrulla Xpress Pvt Ltd. However, the platform stopped releasing capital to the financiers, and the asserted companies ceased, subsequently closing their offices in Noida.
“Role of Easebuzz and PhonePe are under probe as the merchant accounts of the fraudsters operating HIBOX were unlocked nearly outside following due verification process and avoiding the standards laid down by the RBI,” DCP added.
The rise in digital fraud cases
According to the Indian Cybercrime Coordination Centre (I4C), over 100,000 cases of investment scams were reported in 2023. In the first four months of 2024 alone, Indians lost approximately Rs 1,760 crore due to digital fraud:
- Rs 120 crore lost in 4,599 digital fraud cases
- Rs 1,420 crore lost in trading scams through 20,043 cases
- Rs 222 crore lost in 62,687 investment scam complaints
