Man held under PASA in Chinese loan app fraud case

PASA is an “Act to provide for preventive detention of boot-leggers, dangerous persons, drug offenders, immoral traffic offenders and property grabbers preventing their anti-social and dangerous activities prejudicial to the maintenance of public order”, as per the official description.

On Tuesday, the Cyber Crime police station in Vadodara said Patel had been sent to Rajkot Central Jail for his involvement in two similar crimes in Vadodara and Rajkot.

A native of Kavitha village in Sankheda taluka of Chhota Udepur district, Patel was out on bail since June.

In an FIR filed in April based on a Vadodara resident’s complaint against cyber harassment and blackmail for extortion by “agents” of a Chinese loan application, the Vadodara Cyber Crime police station arrested eight persons, including prime accused Umang Patel. He reportedly entered the fraudulent network after his elder brother fell victim to a cyber fraud last year.

Patel is accused of harassment of the complainant, who had availed a loan of Rs 2.5 lakh from two China-based instant loan mobile apps. Patel, through his network of agents, had allegedly morphed objectionable pictures of the complainant and extorted Rs 7.5 lakh by means of blackmail. Later, when he allegedly continued to demand money, the complainant approached the Cyber Crime police station.

The investigators found the gang was involved in siphoning off crores of Indian rupees for the Chinese mafia through transactions to Chinese crypto accounts and IP addresses involved in the scam traced to locations in Hong Kong and China. Police have also found evidence of Umang Patel having personally met the Chinese mafia in Kuala Lumpur in March to hand over the biggest tool for the crime — bank account kits of shell company “directors”.

Some of the transactions in the FIR were also made through the accounts opened by Uman, giving the police the much-needed breakthrough to establish the China connect.

Umang is associated with opening 10 shell companies and 30 accounts in his own name and the victim’s money was credited in two of his accounts in a total transaction of about Rs 15 crore, out of which he earned a commission of Rs 15 lakh, the police said. He was arrested by the Rajkot cyber crime police station for extortion and other Sections of the IT Act.