Surat: The Cyber Centre of Excellence has arrested five members of an alleged cyber fraud syndicate accused of cheating a Surat resident out of ₹2.3 crore through a fake forex investment scheme that began on a matrimonial website.

According to investigators, the victim came into contact with a woman calling herself “Jigyasha Kapoor” on the matrimonial platform. After gaining his confidence, she introduced him to forex trading on the RoboForex platform, claiming it offered high returns.

To build trust, the fraudsters allowed the victim to withdraw a small profit on an initial investment of ₹50,000. Encouraged by the returns, he was later instructed through Telegram to transfer nearly ₹1.5 crore into multiple bank accounts while being shown fake profits on an online trading portal.

But later, when he attempted to withdraw his money, his account was blocked. The fraudsters then demanded another ₹83 lakh, claiming it was required to unlock the account. They continued seeking additional payments under the pretext of withdrawal charges, but the victim never received any of his money back.

Police arrested Raj Padsala from Anand and four Rajkot residents, Yagnik Ramani, Laxman Vaghela, Jaydipkumar Ardesana and Sagar Gokani.

The investigation revealed that Padsala had opened a bank account in the name of “RP Chemicals” and allegedly handed over the account kit to the other accused in exchange for a commission. Police said the account was routed through intermediaries before reaching cyber fraudsters operating from Nepal with the help of contacts based in Delhi.

A search on the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal (NCCRP) found that the bank account is linked to 31 cybercrime complaints from across the country involving transactions worth more than ₹15.3 crore.

Police have seized seven mobile phones and forged identity cards from the accused and are continuing to investigate the syndicate’s interstate and cross-border links. DeshGujarat