Elvish Yadav, Bharti Singh among influencers summoned by Delhi Police over Rs 500 crore investment scam

Police said the notices were issued after the Special Cell’s Intelligence Fusion and Strategic Operations (IFSO) unit arrested the main accused, J Sivaram (30), director of Hibox’s parent company, Sutrulla Express Private Limited. The firm’s accounts were allegedly used to move the cheated amount, officers said.

According to police, 10 ‘influencers’ — Saurav Joshi; Abhishek Malhan @ Fukra Insaan; Purav Jha; Elvish Yadav; Bharti Singh; Harsh Limbachiya; Lakshay Choudhary; Adarsh Singh; Amit @ Crazy XYZ; and Dilraj Singh Rawat @ Indian hacker — were issued notices for allegedly influencing people to use the app.

Police said these celebrities allegedly lured people through advertisements and promotional activities to invest their money in return for high profits. Five of the 10 influencers named were summoned by the IFSO, police said. “Elvish Yadav and Bharti Singh are among the five summoned. Others will be summoned in the coming days. They will be questioned regarding their deal with the mobile app and asked about how much they were paid for brand endorsement,” said DCP (IFSO) Hemant Tiwari.

Complaints pour in

Hibox was launched in February 2024 but was developed since July 2023. “They (the accused) developed the backend, opened merchant accounts with Easebuzz and PhonePe, and opened front offices in Noida throughout 2023, before formally launching the app,” a police officer claimed.
From April 2024, after YouTubers and other influencers did promotional videos, the app started giving movements for investments. “Initially, in five months, Hibox gave returns of 1% daily and 30% monthly with a block duration of 24 hours,” DCP Tiwari said.

According to police, investors were also offered ‘magic’ boxes, which were virtual boxes with gifts worth the promised return. “Investors could choose to have their investments either in the form of these gifts of the same value or cash,” a police officer said.

However, come July 2024, both gifts and investors’ money vanished into thin air. “From the first week of July, Hibox withheld payments to participants on some pretext or the other like technical glitches, legal issues, GST issues, etc.,” said DCP Tiwari.

According to police, the alleged scam came to light on August 16 when the IFSO received complaints from 29 people, who claimed they invested via the app on the pretext of 30% to 90% monthly returns. Investigation revealed that another FIR was registered at the Northeast district’s cyber police station, where nine more people alleged being scammed by Hibox.

“Later, 30 other complaints from the Northeast district, 35 complaints from the Outer district, 24 complaints from Shahdara District, and 488 complaints on the NCRP portal with similar modus operandi came to light,” said DCP Tiwari.

According to police, the four accounts in which most of the money was transferred were tracked and all of them led to Sutrulla Express Private Limited, based in Washermenpet in Chennai.

“All phone numbers related to the company were traced, and their CDRs of the last two years were analysed. It was found that the owner of the company, Sivaram, constantly changed numbers and moved between Delhi and Chennai. The offices in Chennai were raided, along with possible locations in Delhi. The accused was finally arrested in Delhi, just after he arrived from Chennai,” a police officer aware of the matter said.

According to police, Sutrulla was incorporated in November 2016 by Sivaram. “In December 2022, he allegedly came in contact with two Vietnamese individuals who allegedly helped develop the ‘India’ version of Hibox. The true extent of the app and its international links are being probed,” the officer said.

The five influencers summoned will join the investigation Friday and flouting of norms by payment getaways PhonePe and Easebuzz is being investigated, police said.

Curated For You

India vs South Africa 2nd T20I, Live Cricket Score: Shubman Gill, Abhishek, SKY dismissed early; IND: 43/3 vs SA in 214-run chase

Dilip Kumar’s sisters created ‘hostile environment’ for wife Saira Banu leading to her hospitalisation; ‘orchestrated’ his second marriage to drive her away

Congress SOS from Odisha: Responsibility in wrong hands, Priyanka Gandhi should take leadership role