India: Woman who duped over 1,000 people of Dh125 million in ‘fake cab app’ scam arrested in Goa

A woman who was one of the directors of a company that allegedly duped around 1,000 people of Rs250 crore (Dh125 million) has been arrested in the Indian state of Goa. She was scamming people into investing in a new cab aggregator project.

Taxi aggregator companies create phone applications which are used to facilitate the communication and transactions between drivers and passengers.

Delhi Police’s Economic Offences Wing (EOW) arrested the woman who was promoting the project called “Hello Taxi” that never took off. Neither the money paid by investors nor the interest was returned, police told local media.

The alleged company initially paid returns to some investors to win their confidence but stopped payments after collecting large amounts of money and fled after closing their offices, as per local media reports.

As per reports, investors were promised returns of up to 200 per cent.

‘Hello Taxi’ director arrested

The accused, 47-year-old Daisey Menon, was arrested in Goa, after police received a complaint against the company, SMP Impex, and its directors in 2019.

“The directors of the accused company actively induced the victims to part with their money on the pretext of high returns by investing their funds into the Hello Taxi company. The alleged company accepted bookings from the investors without taking approval from the concerned authorities like RBI (Reserve Bank of India)/SEBI (Securities and Exchange Board of India),” Om Prakash Mishra, joint commissioner Economic Offences Wing (EOW) was quoted as saying.

Office locations change

“The locations of the company also changed frequently to trap fresh victims. Initially, it started its operation from Ghaziabad, and after some months, it was shifted to Patparganj and then to Rohini,” Mishra added.

Police seized the bank statements of the company and over Rs3.2 crore (Dh1,604,707) in cash was frozen. Also, 60 new cars worth Rs3.5 crore (Dh1,755,148) were confiscated.

Reportedly, all the directors were absconding. Initially one of the directors, Rajesh Mahto, was arrested in August, and he gave leads about Daisey Menon, police told local media.

“The accused fooled the public by organising event meetings and seminars at five-star hotels and employed smart people to create a false aura around their victims,” Mishra was quoted as saying.