Jaipur: Sriganganagar police Tuesday arrested two members of an interstate gang accused of orchestrating a massive forex trading scam, duping thousands of people across Karnataka of over Rs 2,000 crore. The mastermind, Ajay Arya, is at large and is suspected to be hiding in Dubai, police officials said. The arrests followed a raid on Arya’s property in Sriganganagar, from where luxury cars, cash, and damning digital evidence linked to the pan-India cyber fraud were recovered.
The investigation began after Kantempa Babu Chanhad (40), a resident of Ingalagi, Karnataka, lodged a complaint alleging he was swindled of Rs 4.5 crore by Arya’s firm, Cappmorefx. Chanhad’s tip-off led police to raid Arya’s residence in Ambika City-2, Sriganganagar, where two gang members were arrested. During the operation, authorities seized a luxury car worth Rs 85 lakh, Rs 10 lakh, mobile phones, and documents exposing the syndicate’s sprawling operations.
According to Sriganganagar SP Gaurav Yadav, the gang lured victims through Instagram ads and a multi-level marketing (MLM) model, promising 200–300% returns on forex investments. “They initially rewarded early investors with high payouts to build credibility, then escalated their operations by recruiting agents to bring in more victims,” Yadav explained. By June 2023, the scheme amassed Rs 2,000 crore from unsuspecting individuals, many of whom were persuaded to reinvest profits, only to be left stranded when the syndicate vanished.
The gang operated under two fronts: Teachable Tech, a Karnataka-based company established in 2022, and Cappmorefx, their forex trading arm. Investigators noted that Arya’s MLM structure transformed investors into agents, creating a self-sustaining cycle of recruitment and fraud.
A deeper probe revealed over 76,000 complaints linked to a single account on the govt of India’s Pratibimb portal, a real-time cybercrime reporting platform. One account was tied to 75 fraudulent bank transactions. “This is just the tip of the iceberg. The syndicate likely targeted victims in Maharashtra and other states,” SP Yadav added.
“We arrested two of the accused, Deepak Arya and Lajpat Arya, from Ajay’s house, while a search has been launched for other accused persons. The FIR has been registered against eight identified individuals, including Ajay, Deepak, Lajpat, Saurabh Chawla, Saloni Chawla, Karmajeet Singh, Baljeet Singh, and Rajendra Singh, and other unidentified people,” said the officer.
SP Yadav urged the public to exercise caution: “Verify platforms through official channels and avoid schemes that sound too good to be true.”
