Police arrest three in connection to Rs 1.70 cr online fraud in Odisha

The Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of Odisha police on Friday arrested three persons for their alleged involvement in an online trading fraud involving funds to the tune of Rs 1.70 crore, a police officer said. The accused persons, arrested following a complaint against them by an individual, hailed from Bhubaneswar city. According to the EOW officials, the three have induced the complaint and others to invest money in online trading schemes, assuring high return. The complaint had invested Rs 41.30 lakh while two other investors had deposited over Rs 1.28 crore in the fake trading schemes floated by the accused persons in 2023, the EOW officer said. After collecting the money, the accused persons closed the company websites, mobile applications and fled from the locality without paying any return to the investors, he said. To facilitate the fraud, they had conducted promotional meetings in Bhubaneswar and Cuttack in Odisha, and other places in Himachal Pradesh, West Bengal, and Andhra Pradesh. Further investigation is in progress, the officer said.