Online-tasks scam: Dubai-Gujarat link emerges

Kirtan Gopalbhai Dola, the prime suspect arrested from Gujarat, revealed details of the operation

The authorities have come across a case wherein people travelling to Dubai on tourist visas have been involved in cyber fraud activities in India. The North Cyber Cell recently apprehended four suspects from Gujarat, who during interrogation, revealed that such individuals were operating a cyber fraud gang in India while being located in Dubai.

The investigation pertained to a ‘task fraud' case in which the fraudsters allegedly duped a woman of Rs 32.88 lakh. The woman had been promised a part-time job that would allow her to earn a daily income by liking, sharing, and rating various hotels and videos. She fell into their trap and lost her money, after which she reported the case to the North Cyber Cell in June.

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Under the supervision of Senior Inspector Vijay Chandanshive, officers from the North Cyber Cell traced the account where the victim's money had been transferred. They detained the beneficiary account holder and obtained information that led to the arrest of four suspects - Hardik Panchal, 30, Nirav Bharatbhai Mishree, 32, Kautilya alias Viral Patel, 35, and Kirtan Gopalbhai Dola, 32 - who are all from Ahmedabad.

"We have recovered the details of 25 accounts and seized 12 cell phones, along with SIM cards, bank cheque books and passbooks. We believe Dola is the mastermind of the operation. The four suspects used the identities of poor vendors, auto-rickshaw drivers and daily wage labourers to create a fake company and open current accounts in various multinational and cooperative banks," said an officer, adding that these accounts were used to deposit and move fraudulent funds from across the country.

According to the officer, Dola - who has experience as a production manager in Gujarati films and serials - confessed to the crime. Dola revealed that he was working for two Gujarati individuals currently based in Dubai, who, in turn, were working for a Chinese mastermind. "The documents and account details recovered during his arrest indicated that these two individuals in Dubai had online access to the fraudulent accounts," the officer said.

The fraudulently obtained funds were initially in Indian rupees and would be converted to cryptocurrency before being sent to the main mastermind in China, the officer added. "The arrested suspects received 5 to 10 per cent of the fraudulent amount as their commission. Bank statements showed daily transactions ranging from Rs 25 lakh to Rs 50 lakh in each account, with Dola having obtained around Rs 25 lakh in commission, as per his confession.

The investigation further revealed that similar task fraud cases are being operated from Dubai and China. "Middlemen in India provide accounts for these operations and earn commissions on a daily basis," the officer said.

Thefour suspects have been presented before the court and remanded in police custody till October 12. "We are investigating further and efforts are being made to obtain details of the two accused individuals currently in Dubai, with plans to issue LOC (lookout circular) notices against them," another officer said.

Rs 25 lakh
Total amount prime suspect earned as commission