By Our Correspondent
BHUBANESWAR: EOW Odisha, seized/ froze more than Rs2.52 Crores of various companies/ firm inEOW PS Case No.09 dated 21.04.2022 U/s294/506/507/420/467/468/120-B IPC & 66 D of IT Act, 2000 related to running of illegal digital loan APPS. The frozen accounts belong to following
companies/ firm :-
1. BTWO Consulting Private Limited
2. Jiyaling InfoTech Private limited.
3. Omellete Technology Private Limited.
The bulk of amounts belong to Jamshedpur, Jharkhand based Recovery Agent
Company BTWO Consulting Private Limited. BTWO is also involved in second Loan APP case videEOW PS case no No.13 dt.02.07.2022 u/s294/384/420/467/468/471/120-B IPC, r/w Sec.66 (D) ITAct, 2000.
Pune based Jiyaling Technology Private Limited and Bangalore based Omlette Technology Private Limited are the shell companies used by Chinese mastermind Liu Yi to run illegal digital loan APPS.Earlier, in this case raids were conducted by EOW Odisha at New Delhi, Mumbai,Bangalore, Hyderabad, Rajasthan etc. and 5 accused were arrested and Rs 6.57 crores were frozen.
Also, on the request of Economic Offences Wing, Bhubaneswar, Bureau of Immigration (BOI) had issued Look out Circular against LIU YI, a Chinese national. Further investigation is going on.
Advisory on Illegal Loan Apps
These fake loan apps once downloaded in one’s mobile play store, small amounts ranging from Rs.3,000/- to Rs.10,000/- is credited in the customer’s bank account. Once the amount is credited to the customer’s bank account, within a week the customer/borrower is asked to repay the amount with excessive rate of interest. On denial to pay the high rate of interest, the concerned customer is humiliated/ bullied in many ways. Obscene messages and indecent pictures alongwith abusive texts in filthy languages are sent to his/her whatsapp number and as well as to his/her contact list as a coercive measure to recover the loan amount with interest. This process of recovery is so overbearing and humiliating that there are some instances of the customers committing suicide. There has been already more than 1.5 lakh downloads of KOKO and JOJO loan. EOW has received morethan 100 complaints from Odisha related to illegal/ abusive activities of illegal Loan APP.
In order to contain these types of crime and to create general awareness among the public, it is hereby advised/ requested to the public that not to take any loans from unregistered/ illegal loan apps available on Internet and Playstore as the loan apps on pretext of advancing loan, access/ hack all information from the customers phone, which may later be used by the company to perpetrate some other financial crime. Such loan apps also harass the customer by charging not only a high rate of interest but on failure to repay the same, harass them by sending obscene and indecent representation of the customers photos including morphed porn photos to their contact list. Hence, on failure of repayment of loan, the consequences has to be borne not only by the customer but also by their family members and friends/contacts. Many times money is also credited just after downloading the APP without actually asking/ requesting money. n some states, many people have committed suicide being blackmailed / continuously humiliated by the recovery agents of these illegal loan APPs. Not only the borrowers but their family members are also harassed. All are advised that one should avoid downloading/ using these illegal loan APPs.
Even if someone has already downloaded/ taken loan, they should not surrender/ tolerate the abusive/ harassing behavior/ torture but instead report the matter to police. And in no case they should take the extreme steps like committing suicide.
Advisory:-
1. Please do not give your documents for opening of bank accounts to be operated by someone else and also don’t allow anybody to use your SIM to be used by someone else. These things can be used for illegal purposes.
2. Please don’t surrender to abusive/ torturous method of recovery agents of these Loan App companies. Report the matter to local Police.
