Hyderabad, Sept 19 (Representative) Cyber Security Bureau of Telanfana police have arrested a man from West Bengal for defrauding a Hyderabad resident of RS 5.27 crore, an official said on Wednesday. Saidul Islam Khan, an inhabitant of resident of Contai City in Purba Medinipur district was arrested under various sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) dealing with cheating, forgery and criminal conspiracy as also for offences under the Information Technology Act, Bureau Director Shikha Goel said in a release here. On July 11, a resident of Hyderabad lodged a complaint stating that he encountered an advertisement on Facebook promoting lucrative returns through stock recommendations. Upon exploring the details further, he received a link to join a WhatsApp group named “A117 IIFL SECURITIES Official Stock Community” on May 7, she said. After joining the group, a person named “Ankur Kedia,” who claimed to be the Chief Investment Officer (CIO) of IIFL Securities and one of the group’s admins, communicated with him.
Kedia started sharing stock recommendations in the group and, after a few days, advised the complainant to apply for the Initial Public Offerings (IPOs) of several companies that were expected to be listed in June and July. Kedia claimed they could facilitate the application and purchase of IPOs through “Institutional buyers” for the complainant as a High-Net-Worth Individual (HNI), promising assured allotments and significant profits. The complainant was provided with account details of certain firms that Kedia described as regulatory accounts used for processing such transactions as per IIFL Securities’ procedures. Trusting this, the complainant made his first transaction on June 9 and the last one on July 2, transferring a total of Rs 5,27,69,000 into their accounts. He was able to withdraw only Rs 45,000 before being unable to withdraw any further funds. Realising that he has been duped, he filed a complaint.
The Director said the accused Saidul Islam Khan, who was running a business in his locality, was not making profits. He became friends with an associate who promised lucrative commissions and a substantial loan if he opened a bank account with ICICI Bank and shared the net banking credentials. Following his associate’s directions, Islam Khan opened a current account with ICICI Bank under the name S.S.R. Brick Field and provided the account details to his associate. This account was then used in the scam, receiving Rs 1 crore from the complainant. The amount was subsequently transferred to various accounts using net banking, aiding in the execution of the fraud. The Telangana Cyber Security Bureau (TGCSB) urged the public to remain vigilant and refrain from supplying their bank accounts to known or unknown individuals in exchange for temporary commissions.