Amreli Cyber Crime Police Bust ₹634 Crore Investment Scam, Six Arrested

The Amreli Cyber Crime Police have busted an alleged investment fraud in which more than 1.5 lakh people were lured into investing money through the SD Pay and Apna Pay mobile applications on promises of unusually high returns. The Special Investigation Team (SIT) has arrested six people, including the alleged company director, in connection with the suspected ₹634 crore financial scam.

Investors Lured With Daily Returns, Referral Bonuses

According to the police, the accused promoted the SD Pay application through social media and digital platforms, promising daily returns of 0.15% to 0.30% on investments ranging from ₹1,000 to more than ₹5 lakh.

The scheme also offered referral commissions of between 3% and 30% across 15 layers, which investigators said helped the operators expand their network rapidly.

Police said the application had crossed one million downloads on the Google Play Store, while around 1.5 lakh to 2.5 lakh people were allegedly connected to the scheme through referrals and encouraged to invest money.

The promised returns were structured according to the investment amount:

• ₹1,000 to ₹25,000: 0.15% daily return
• ₹25,000 to ₹1 lakh: 0.20% daily return
• ₹1 lakh to ₹5 lakh: 0.25% daily return
• Above ₹5 lakh: 0.30% daily return
• Referral bonus: 3% to 30% commission across 15 layers

Dummy Companies Used To Route Funds

The investigation found that the accused allegedly created several companies, including S.D. Hub (OPC) Pvt. Ltd., Shiv Dharti Communication and Upay Digi Payment India, to collect and route funds.

Police said around ₹634 crore was deposited into 15 bank accounts linked to these companies. Investigators have also identified 30 to 35 personal bank accounts allegedly linked to the accused.

A case was registered at the Amreli Cyber Crime Police Station under relevant provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), the Banning of Unregulated Deposit Schemes Act, the Gujarat Protection of Interest of Depositors (in Financial Establishments) Act and the Information Technology Act.

Six Accused Arrested

The SIT has arrested six accused:

• Suryasinh Rathod, 24, a resident of Mansa, Gandhinagar
• Ashish Gedia, 38, originally from Savarkundla and currently residing in Surat
• Bhavesh Chauhan, 41, originally from Savarkundla and currently residing in Surat
• Nishi Prasad, 47, a resident of Mehsana and originally from Bihar
• Sohil Makwana, 26, a resident of Mehsana
• Niravkumar Patel, 32, a resident of Balol, Mehsana

83 Cyber Fraud Complaints Traced

A check of the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal (NCCRP) found 83 cyber fraud complaints registered across the country against 12 bank accounts allegedly linked to the gang.

The SIT is now investigating additional companies, bank accounts and financial transactions to determine the full extent of the alleged fraud and identify other people who may have been involved.