Gujarat: Man held for Rs 1.52 crore online investment fraud in Surat

Gujarats Surat Cyber Crime Police have arrested a 32yearold man from Khambhalia in Devbhumi Dwarka district in connection with an alleged online investment fraud involving Rs 152 croreThe accused identified as Riyaz alias Shoaib Mirza was arrested after police traced his location during a technical investigation Police alleged that he provided bank accounts that were used to route money generated through cyber fraudVictim allegedly lured with promise of higher returnsAccording to police the complainant was targeted between November 14 2025 and February 10 2026 by individuals who promised high returns through dollar investments in the share marketThe accused allegedly sent the complainant links to a fake website containing forged electronic content and persuaded them to register and create an accountThe complainant subsequently transferred a total of Rs 15263198 to several bank accounts through the fraudulent website and customer service channels for trading and investment purposesPolice said the complainant was later prevented from withdrawing the moneyAccused allegedly provided bank accounts on commissionPolice said Riyaz allegedly obtained bank accounts from people who had already been arrested in the case by paying them a three per cent commissionHe allegedly supplied these accounts to other accused who are still absconding enabling them to transfer money generated through cyber fraud Riyaz allegedly received a commission for facilitating the transactionsA case was registered at the Cyber Crime Police Station under Sections 3184 3362 338 3363 3402 612 and 35 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita 2023 along with Section 66D of the Information Technology Amendment Act 2008Technical investigation led police to KhambhaliaPolice Inspector YS Sisodia and his team along with Assistant Police Constable Hardikkumar Gagjibhai and other personnel worked to trace the accusedPolice said technical inputs indicated that Riyaz was in Khambhalia A Surat police team subsequently travelled to Devbhumi Dwarka district located him at his newly changed residence and arrested him318 cyber fraud complaints linked to bank accountsPolice said an examination of the bank accounts mentioned in the FIR on the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal revealed 318 complaints registered across 22 states and Union TerritoriesThese included 12 complaints from Andhra Pradesh three from Bihar one from Chandigarh two from Chhattisgarh six from Delhi one from Goa 49 from Gujarat two from Haryana eight from Rajasthan 26 from Telangana one from Uttarakhand two from Jammu and Kashmir 26 from Karnataka 43 from Kerala three from Madhya Pradesh 35 from Maharashtra three from Odisha seven from Puducherry three from Punjab 60 from Tamil Nadu 17 from Uttar Pradesh and eight from West BengalPolice also found seven firstlayer NCCRP complaints linked to an IndusInd Bank account that Riyaz had allegedly obtained from one of the previously arrested accused on commission These complaints were registered in Gujarat Karnataka Kerala and Tamil NaduThree accused already arrestedThree other accused had previously been arrested in connection with the case They were identified as Mineshkumar Solanki 26 of Ahmedabad Anil Gupta 39 of Ahmedabad and Vikas Singh Bhadoria 34 also of AhmedabadTheir stated permanent addresses are in Patan district of Gujarat Deoria district of Uttar Pradesh and Agra district of Uttar Pradesh respectivelyThe latest arrest is part of the ongoing investigation into the alleged network of bank accounts used to move money generated through cyber fraudPolice said further investigation into the other accused involved in the case is continuingWith inputs from IANS