CHENNAI: The inter-state gang, which was arrested by the CB-CID last week, targeted businessmen mainly from Southern states and had no links with the Syndicate members in Tamil Nadu who were arrested last year, police said.
Over 100 persons were arrested by the State police in TN last year in connection with the Iridium fraud perpetrated by a syndicate operating across the state. They had targeted everyone from the unassuming farm labourers, women Self Help Group (SHG) members, to greedy businessmen and amassed several crores.
“A couple of the accused in the inter-state gang were, in a way, victims themselves initially, before they crossed over to the other side,” said a CB-CID official. “The small-time businessmen invest in these schemes in the hope that they get exponential returns. When they realise they are conned, they join hands with the accused to trap other businessmen.”
Probe revealed that the inter-state gang conducted a reccee scouting for their potential targets. After indulging in ‘big money’ talks, and some wining and dining, the accused slowly lay the trap of exponential returns on their investments. Forged RBI documents claiming sanction of several thousand crores are shown to the victims, who start investing with the fraud gangs.
Another difference between this gang and those arrested in Tamil Nadu last year is that the former targeted only businessmen while the TN syndicate even took money from daily wage labourers and women SHG (self-help group) members. One mastermind arrested last year created a WhatsApp group and uploaded documents like RBI letters, I-Tax department seals, letters from Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) regularly to induce unsuspecting victims to part with their money. “An accused had collected more than Rs 1 crore from women SHGs and public in Virudhunagar,” police said.
According to V Murugeshan, a whistleblower, several of the accused arrested by CB-CID last year are already out on bail and there are people still hoping that they will get returns on their investments.
The CBCID appeals to the public to remain vigilant and not fall prey to false claims such as ‘Selling iridium will bring crores of rupees from abroad’, ‘You can receive foreign funds through the RBI’.