Hyderabad police arrested a Chinese national on Wednesday in connection with their investigation into mobile apps that provide instant loans through their call centers. This loan approval is done quickly on these platforms, but the lenders then harass the borrowers for repayment. The police started their investigation after several such cases were reported.
The 27-year-old Chinese national was intercepted at Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGI) as he tried to leave the country, police said, adding that he was the chief operating officer for loan applications run by the four companies.
Another person, a native of Andhra Pradesh’s Kurnool district, who played a key role in running the call centers, was also arrested, police said.
The cybercrime police station in Hyderabad is investigating up to 27 cases related to the issuance of loans for alleged unauthorized loan applications and harassment of borrowers by companies that run the applications through their call centers.
A preliminary investigation into financial transactions has revealed that about Rs 1.4 million transactions worth nearly Rs 21,000 crore have so far been carried out, according to a statement from the Hyderabad police.
Many transactions have taken place over the past six months and investigations are continuing, police said.
Police said the investigation also revealed that another Chinese national had established operations in India and is currently abroad.
On December 22, Hyderabad police had arrested 11 people from five call centers located in Gurgaon, Haryana and Hyderabad, who were being used to persuade, harass and intimidate loan defaulters.
The crackdown on loan applications began after three suicide cases, including that of a software engineer, were reported in the past month. According to the police, the engineer had borrowed Rs 8 lakh from an app that promised quick loans. When Covid-19 arrived in the country, the man lost his job and was unable to meet payment deadlines. With interest, the man owed the app company Rs 11 lakh.
Police said he was harassed with many calls demanding reimbursement and soon learned that several of his contacts had received messages calling him a “scammer.”
(With inputs from agencies)
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