Loan app scam: the scam head arrested at IGI Airport.
Key points:
- Hyderabad police detained a Chinese national connected with their investigation of mobile apps offering instant loans via their call centres.
- The 27-year-old Chinese national was arrested at Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International (IGI) airport.
- On December 22, 11 people from five call centres located in Gurgaon, Haryana, and Hyderabad were arrested by the Hyderabad police.
- According to the police, the engineer had borrowed Rs 8 lakh through an app that offered fast loans.
On Wednesday, the Hyderabad police detained a Chinese national connected with their investigation of mobile apps offering instant loans via their call centres.
Such loan approval is carried out easily on these channels, but then the lenders threaten the borrowers over repayment. After multiple such cases were registered, the police launched their inquiry.
As Hyderabad police confirmed:
As he was attempting to leave the nation, the 27-year-old Chinese national was arrested at Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International (IGI) airport, police confirmed, adding that he was the ultimate head of loan app operations by the 4 companies.
Another guy, a native of Andhra Pradesh’s Kurnool district, who played a crucial role in call centre operations, also was arrested, the police added.
As per the Hyderabad police report:
The Hyderabad Cyber Crime Police Station investigates as many as 27 cases involving the issuance of loans through suspected illegal loan apps and the intimidation of borrowers by the businesses that operate the apps through their call centres.
A preliminary investigation into the financial transactions showed that nearly 1.4 crore transactions worth almost Rs 21,000 crore had occurred so far, a Hyderabad police report said.
Further police stated:
In the last six months, most of the transactions have taken place, and further work is underway, police said.
Police said the investigation has also disclosed that another Chinese citizen has developed operations in India and seems to be currently abroad.
11 arrested from 5 call centre:
On December 22, 11 people from five call centres located in Gurgaon, Haryana, and Hyderabad were arrested by the Hyderabad police to persuade, threaten, and intimidate loan defaulters.
The three cases of suicides have been registered:
After 3 cases of suicides, including that of a software engineer, were reported within the past month, the crackdown on loan apps started.
According to the police, the engineer had borrowed Rs 8 lakh through an app that offered fast loans. The guy lost his job when Covid-19 reached the country and did not reach the repayment deadlines.
The man is owing to the app company Rs 11 lakh, with interest. The police said that several requests for repayment targeted him and soon discovered that some of his contacts also received messages calling him a “fraudster.”
