Mumbai: The Central region Cyber Police have arrested a 34-year-old cloth merchant from Pune for allegedly receiving Rs 34 lakh out of the Rs 74.37 lakh siphoned from a 70-year-old retired railway official from Matunga in a fake stock-trading investment scam. The Police arrested Akshay Mirgule and have frozen his bank accounts in which police have found several unknown deposits of money from unknown persons. Police said he is not only a beneficiary but suspects his involvement in a few other cyber fraud cases. The fraudsters posing as investment officers of Astha Credit and Securities Pvt. Ltd. persuaded a Matunga resident to invest in share trading. The retired victim believed the caller and downloaded a bogus app as suggested by the caller and invested money. The victim realised he was cheated after repeated withdrawal attempts were denied on the fake app, despite having paid additional charges and “income tax” demanded by the fraudsters. “The victim on the directions from the callers transferred money in multiple instalments to various bank accounts after being promised high returns and lost Rs 75 lakh. During the money trail, we traced Mirgule’s bank account to Pune. On face value he appears to be innocent but examining his account we found he had withdrawn Rs 9 lakh for himself and rest he transferred to his mentors who are under the scanner.” said an official.Investigators said Mirgule acted as a key conduit in the layered money trail used to obscure the flow of funds. His arrest followed analysis of bank transactions, WhatsApp chats and technical evidence submitted by the complainant.
