BENGALURU—The police have arrested the alleged kingpin of a massive Rs 4-crore cyber and financial fraud syndicate, concluding a months-long search that spanned several states. The suspect, ‘Mayank Kadian’, was arrested at his residence in Mohali, Punjab, and is accused of orchestrating a complex scheme that targeted and deceived a respected Bengaluru-based business group. The arrest follows the earlier detention of his sister and brother-in-law, revealing a sophisticated, family-led criminal network.
The Arrest and The Network
The operation was conducted by the Bengaluru police, who successfully tracked and arrested Mayank Kadian in Mohali. According to authorities, Kadian had been aggressively evading arrest for nearly six months, constantly shifting his location between Uttar Pradesh, Karnal, Bengaluru, and Chandigarh. HiMutiples capture is viewed as crucial to take down the entire syndicate. Police confirmed that Kadian ran the inter-state operation alongside his sister, Garima Kadian, and brother-in-law, Sachin Tomar, who were previously taken into custody. In addition to the trio, the police First Information Report (FIR) names six to seven other associates, suggesting a wide-reaching network was involved in the crime.
Anatomy of a Rs 4-Crore Deception
The syndicate is accused of defrauding the victims of more than Rs 4 crore since 2023. The scheme was highly organized, preying on the financial ambitions and trust of their targets. The group offered lucrative, yet entirely fraudulent, investment opportunities. These included promises to help obtain valuable US visas, securing partnerships in supposed new restaurant ventures, or investing in high-return real-estate projects. To make these offers appear legitimate, the gang used a mix of forged identity documents, including fake Aadhaar cards, to establish a false sense of credibility and professionalism.
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Forged Trust, Fake Payouts
Central to the fraud was a calculated strategy of building and then betraying personal trust. Investigations suggest that Sachin Tomar, reportedly a former bank employee, was tasked with collecting detailed financial information on potential targets. Following this data collection, Garima Kadian would allegedly work to lure victims by forging personal or familial relationships with them. Once a relationship of trust was established, the deception would escalate. To further convince investors, the gang would initially return small profits on early investments, convincing the victims that the ventures were genuine and that the syndicate members were affluent and reliable.
A Syndicate’s Long Shadow
Police reports indicate that the Kadian syndicate has been operating for a considerable time, with a history stretching back to 2018. There are already six to seven criminal cases registered against various members of the group, underscoring their established presence on police radar. The organization reportedly went to great lengths to insulate its members from serious criminal prosecution. When dealing with larger investments, the gang would fabricate property documents and structure the transactions as civil property deals, aiming to later evade criminal liability by framing the disputes as non-criminal civil matters. The police have confirmed that investigations are ongoing, with raids being conducted to trace other accomplices and analyze financial transactions to fully uncover the scope of the fraud.
