HYDERABAD: Cyberabad police on Friday said they had arrested four people, including a Chinese national, in instant loan apps cases.
Organisers of the money lending apps have been harassing loanees by sharing their morphed photos, branding them as cheats after they are unable to repay the borrowed amount within the stipulated time.
Cyberabad police commissioner VC Sajjanar said that prime accused Zia Zhang, a Chinese national, was presently located in Singapore.
Sajjanar said that in this latest case, they have made 6 people as accused, including Zhang. Chinese national Dennis, who is a native of Shanghai in China, Satyapal, Anirud Malhotra, Richi Hemanth Shetty were arrested while two other accused Zhang and Umapathi are at large.
Officials said that these associates had started their instant financing operations in December 2019 and they expanded their operations by starting different companies located in different parts of the country. These accused have been operating 11 financing apps.
Though Zhang is the prime accused, who is the brain behind these operations, it is his compatriot Dennis, who has been in New Delhi since February on a business visa, has been Chief Operating Officer (COO).
Dennis with the support of Satyapal opened different call centres in different parts of the country. It was from these call centres, their employees were dispersing the finance and later harassed the defaulters by defaming them.
"Unlike in the previous cases of instant financing loans which were busted, in the latest case, these accused operated companies have not tied up with any of the Non-Banking Finance Companies. The accused gave finance to the loanee by using their own resource. We are still probing from where and how the accused got the money, which in turn was used to disburse finance to needed persons," Sajjanar told during a press meet.
Till now Telangana police have arrested 15 people ever since the instant financing apps’ harassment came to light.
So far, at least four people in the state committed suicide due to the harassment of the financiers, who defamed them besides levying heavy interest and penalties.