Chartered accountant arrested in Rs 750 crore Chinese loan app scam case
The Uttarakhand Special Task Force (STF) has arrested the alleged mastermind of a pan-India cyber fraud operation involving over Rs 750 crore, at Delhi’s airport.
Abhishek Agarwal, a chartered accountant by profession, is accused of running a fake loan app racket in collaboration with Chinese nationals, exploiting thousands of Indians.
The arrest was made under a Look Out Circular (LOC) issued in an interstate cyber fraud case. Agarwal, a resident of Ashok Vihar, North West Delhi, was arrested at Indira Gandhi International Airport, Delhi.
He was presented before a court by the cyber police for further legal proceedings.
SHELL COMPANIES AND CHINESE LINKS
Agarwal had created around 35–40 shell companies, with 13 registered under his own name and 28 under his wife’s name. Several of these companies had Chinese nationals as co-directors. The financial transactions through these entities amounted to over Rs 750 crore, now under investigation for links to illicit cyber activities.
The accused is believed to have played a key role in bringing Chinese nationals to India in 2019–20 to set up the infrastructure for the scam. He had personally travelled to Shanghai and Shenzhen in 2019, which investigators believe was to coordinate operations with his overseas counterparts.
