Ahmedabad: The numbers are hard to ignore: an investigation into a Rs 19.1 lakh cyberfraud complaint, filed a week ago, has led the Ahmedabad police to what could be a multi-crore investment scam tied to an online platform that has 1.9 lakh registered users spanning 100 countries.At the centre of the investigation is a 26-year-old computer science graduate from Bihar. Police arrested Kumar Mangalam on Monday, alleging that he handled key technical and promotional functions for WinProFX, a forex and cryptocurrency trading platform accused of attracting investors with promises of unusually high returns. Police say users logging into the platform were shown impressive profits and rapidly growing account balances. But their attempts to withdraw their earnings or their original investments were unsuccessful.Police believe the complaint that triggered the investigation may represent only a tiny fraction of the platform’s overall operations.The accused, a BTech graduate from Begusarai in Bihar, allegedly managed the website’s technical infrastructure, created promotional content and earned commissions through referral codes and platform-related activities.According to investigators, WinProFX projected itself as a sophisticated investment platform offering opportunities in forex trading, cryptocurrencies, gold, silver, commodities and stock indices. Through aggressive digital marketing campaigns, social media promotions and videos highlighting extraordinary returns, the platform allegedly attracted investors from across the world.The scale of that reach has become one of the most striking findings of the investigation.Police said the platform had nearly 1.93 lakh registered users across 100 countries, including India, the UAE, Pakistan, the United States, Bangladesh, Vietnam, Afghanistan, and the United Kingdom. Given the size of the user base and the volume of deposits suspected to have flowed through the platform, investigators believe the eventual fraud amount could be significantly larger than the losses identified so far.According to police, investors were encouraged to deposit funds in both Indian currency and cryptocurrency, particularly USDT. To maintain confidence and encourage additional investment, users were allegedly shown inflated, fictitious profits on their dashboards. When withdrawal requests were made, however, the promised profits and, in many cases, even the principal amounts allegedly remained inaccessible. Investigators said communication from the platform would often stop once users sought to recover their money.A detailed technical investigation involving digital footprints, call data records, cryptocurrency wallet analysis, and money-trail tracking led police to the accused. During the probe, officers seized an iPhone, an iPad, and a MacBook allegedly used in the operation.Police found that WinProFX was registered in Saint Lucia, an island country in the Caribbean, and was not authorised to operate in India despite accepting deposits from Indian investors. Police said preliminary findings indicate that funds may have been routed through suspected mule accounts. Investigators are now examining the role of the platform’s promoters and possible links to a Pakistani national.Officials expect more victims to emerge as the investigation progresses and believe the financial trail could expand substantially in the coming weeks.
