.png){kind=logo}
Odisha Police's Crime Investigation Department (CID) arrested five persons from Gujarat for allegedly cheating a Ganjam-based businessman of more than Rs 6.16 crore in a sophisticated cryptocurrency investment fraud.
The arrested, who are named as Sejal Ravikumar Sabhaya, Sabhaya Ravi Kumanbhai, Sabhaya Kumanbhai, Paras Dhirubhai Jesani, and Dharmesh Nanubhai Savaliya, were detained from Surat and brought to Odisha on transit remand. A number of incriminating materials, such as mobile phones, bank passbooks, debit cards, and WhatsApp chat records, were confiscated, and the linked bank accounts were frozen.
The fraud came to light when a businessman from Berhampur filed a complaint with the CID Cyber Crime Unit against Sanjana Srinivasan. It stated that this girl befriended the victim through their Facebook account and posed as an IBM software developer who was working in Hong Kong. Subsequently, she manipulated the victim into investing money in a Japanese cryptocurrency trading platform, ZAIF, which assured high returns.
Between May and June 2024, the victim transferred substantial amounts of money in installments, expecting profitable returns. However, subsequently, the fraudsters said he had suffered losses and convinced him to deposit another Rs 89 lakh under the false promise of money recovery. When the businessman realised that he had been cheated, he approached the police, and a case was registered in July 2024.
After a rigorous investigation headed by DSP Ratnaprava Satapathy, the CID investigators followed the accused to Gujarat and made the arrests. Police are now probing for suspected accomplices and interstate connections to the scam.
The Odisha Police has also appealed to citizens to be alert against unwanted investment opportunities and report cyber crimes on the helpline 1930 or the nearest police station. The investigation into the trans-India extent of the crime continues.
