Three Directors Of Fintech Companies Held For Cyber Fraud In Odisha

Bargarh: The cyber crime unit of Odisha Crime Branch has arrested three directors of two fintech companies in connection with a crypto investment fraud.

The arrested have been identified as Sumit Kumar Das and Amiya Ranjan Satpathy of Bargarh and Sidharth Satpathy of Bhillai, Chhattisgarh. While Sumit and Amiya are directors of ‘PayInc’ besides Sidharth is the director of ‘Fynpe’. They allegedly were part of cyber frauds by facilitating quick transfer of money to the virtual accounts of cyber criminals.

On May 5 2023, a victim reported about receiving a WhatsApp call from a stranger suggesting to subscribe to a YouTube channel link for earning money. After the victim gave him a Telegram contact for further process, he frequently received messages through the app enticing her to invest money for high returns. Lured by the offer, he then started investing money. The complainant deposited more than Rs 54.75 lakh between May 6, 2023 and May 23, 2023, to get high returns, according to a release issued by Crime Branch,

“When the fraudsters pursued him for more money without any return, he lodged a complaint with Cyber police station at Crime Branch Cuttack. On his complaint, a case was registered under various sections of the IPC besides Section 66-C and 66-D of IT Act, 2000 and a team of officers led by Inspector Geetanjali Jena began investigation into it.”

Online verification of the National Cybercrime Reporting Portal (NCRP) of Indian Cybercrime Coordination Centre (I4C), Ministry of Home Affairs, revealed that apart from this case, 26 other complaints from different parts of the country have been registered against the registered bank account of Fynpe and 18 against PayInc throughout India. Following which, involvement of the three accused was ascertained and they were arrested on Wednesday.

The Cyber Crime Unit of Crime Branch has appealed to the citizens to exercise necessary precaution while engaging in online investment activities.