In a surprising case, a Chinese national managed to dupe 1,200 victims from north Gujarat out of an estimated Rs 1,400 crore in just nine days.?
Given the scale of the case, a Special Investigation Team (SIT) was set up by Gujarat Police to unearth the details.?
The Chinese national visited India and teamed up with collaborators in Gujarat to create a football betting app.?
Investigating the case, the SIT found out that the trail led to Woo Uyanbe from China's Shenzhen region, who allegedly ran the scam in Patan and Banaskantha.?
The Dani Data app was discovered to be at the centre of mishappenings. The Crime Investigation Department (CID) officers said they first learned of the fraud in 2022 when they found that some conmen were targeting people in Gujarat and Uttar Pradesh.?
After the Agra police initiated an inquiry, the CID team discovered links to several people in north Gujarat.?
"During our investigation, we learned that the Chinese national was in India between 2020 and 2022. He spent time in Patan and Banaskantha, where he met numerous locals and lured them with promises of wealth. He and his accomplices in Gujarat then launched the app in May 2022. It invited bets and promised substantial returns."?
The people targeted were between the ages of 15 to 75, mainly those interested in football games.?
On average, Uyanbe managed to steal Rs 200 crore per day.?
People realised they had been frauded of their money only when the app stopped functioning after nine days since it began. It was only then everyone realised their invested money had been siphoned off.?
The CID (Crime) cyber cell subsequently apprehended nine individuals connected to the case, who allegedly aided Uyanbe in funnelling the money through hawala networks by setting up shell companies and moving the money into them, as stated by a TOI report.?
However, Uyanbe suddenly vanished and escaped to China.?
By this time, the Gujarat police had filed an FIR in August 2022 for cheating and violations under the IT Act in Patan.?
The CID (crime) could not get sufficient evidence against Uyanbe, and the state is yet to begin with the extradition process.?
Police said the mastermind continues operating his network in Shenzhen, China, and neighbouring regions like Hong Kong and Singapore.
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