The Directorate of Enforcement (ED) has arrested two Chinese nationals from Tiruchi in connection with a case booked against digital loan apps, which disburse short-term and instantaneous loans to people at exorbitant rates of interest.
The arrested persons were identified as Xiao Ya Mao and Wu Yuanlun. The Principal Sessions Court in Chennai has remanded them in judicial custody till November 29. The ED had initiated a probe into the case based on various first information reports registered against entities or persons indulged in digital money-lending. Several complaints had been filed by those who availed of the loans, stating that they were threatened and abused to repay the borrowed sum. Complaints of exorbitant rates of interest and processing fee were also raised.
The complainants had downloaded mobile applications, and applied for micro loans in the range of ₹5,000 to ₹10,000. They were asked to share their personal information KYC (Know Your Customer) documents, a photo, and bank account details,and grant access to their contact list and gallery. Upon failing to repay the borrowed amount, they were forced to avail of fresh loans from other similar applications, and eventually fell into a debt trap.
Investigation by the ED revealed that some Chinese nationals had formed the companies M/s Toucolor Technologies Private Limited and M/s Truekindle Technology Private Limited in 2020. They forced two employees to become dummy directors of the firms, but ran the entire business operations behind the scenes.
The firms provided short-term instant loans through mobile apps, and a large number of people borrowed money. If the amount was unpaid at the end of the loan tenure, the personal data of borrowers (collected at the time of downloading the applications) were used to harass and threaten them. Moreover, the friends and relatives of the borrowers were contacted, and verbally abused.
The probe further revealed that cryptocurrency wallets or accounts were created by these Chinese nationals. Funds amounting to ₹3.54 crore, received through cryptocurrencies, were credited into these wallets from the period of August to December, 2020. These funds were subsequently used for disbursement of the online loans.
Thereafter, the amount collected from borrowers, worth ₹5.02 crore, and accumulated in the Indian bank accounts were deposited into the cryptocurrency wallets or accounts. This was later converted into cryptocurrency, and subsequently withdrawn through crypto wallets outside the country.
A verification of IP logs revealed that these crypto wallets were accessed from Hong Kong. Thus, the proceeds of the crime were siphoned off outside India. Earlier, the ED had searched multiple locations in the Delhi National Capital Region, Chandigarh, Haryana, Punjab and Gujarat, and froze 96 bank accounts with a total balance of ₹19.43 crore. Further investigation is under way.
Published – November 20, 2024 12:11 am IST
