Payment aggregator platforms PhonePe and Easebuzz have been put under investigation by the Delhi Police’s cyber security cell—the Intelligence Fusion and Strategic Operations (IFSO) unit—for alleged negligence in opening merchant accounts in an investment scam worth Rs 500 crore.
“Apps like PhonePe and others have not followed RBI guidelines while opening virtual merchant accounts, and they are under probe to determine whether this was a mistake or they were actively involved,” said Hemant Tiwari, Deputy Commissioner of Police, IFSO, Special Cell, Delhi Police, to Business Standard.
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IFSO is a specialised unit that investigates cases of cybercrime in India, in coordination with other specialised agencies.
In an official release, IFSO stated that the involvement of employees of the payment platforms could not be ruled out in the case and that it was under investigation.
Email queries sent to PhonePe and Easebuzz did not elicit any response by the time of going to press.
Tiwari further said that apart from the two payment aggregators, around 20 other firms were also under scrutiny for laundering the money involved in the scam.
“More than 20 other companies have been found to be involved in laundering money in this scam. We are investigating this and will soon refer the case of these firms to the Enforcement Directorate (ED) for further investigation,” said Tiwari.
The large-scale scam defrauded over 30,000 people by luring them into investing in the Hibox mobile application and involved promising high returns on investments, with false assurances of daily interest rates ranging from one to five per cent, according to IFSO.
The special cell has also issued notices to popular social media influencers, including Abhishek Malhan, Elvish Yadav, Lakshay Choudhary, and Purav Jha, among others, to join the investigation regarding their alleged involvement in promoting the fraudulent platform.
“Many victims were drawn in through the promotion of the app by popular social media influencers and YouTubers,” said IFSO.
The Delhi Police has clubbed around 127 complaints against the Hibox app and has arrested the main accused, recovering an amount of Rs 18 crore from four bank accounts.
First Published: Oct 03 2024 | 9:23 PM IST
