Noida Online Ponzi Scam: 2 Core Team Members Arrested

The STF had in February detected the fraud by Noida-based Ablaze Info Solutions and arrested three persons.

SocialTrade founder Abhinav Mittal has been arrested for duping lakhs of users of Rs 3700 crores in a ‘cash for likes’ scheme. (Photo: Liju Joseph/The Quint)

The Uttar Pradesh Special Task Force (STF) on Wednesday arrested two more persons, in Greater Noida, in connection with the alleged Rs 3700 crore ponzi scam which was perpetrated by promising huge returns to investors for liking links on the internet.

The STF had in February detected the fraud by Noida-based Ablaze Info Solutions Private Limited and arrested three persons.

The accused Anubhav Mittal’s wife Ayushi Mittal’s house has been sealed by the state’s Special Task Force (STF) in February as part of the probe.

The force on Wednesday arrested Pramod Kumar Solanki, a resident of Hapur, and Pramod Kumar Vimal, who hails from Ghaziabad.

On receiving inputs about Solanki and Vimal's presence in the city, SSP UP STF Amit Pathak formed a team and the duo were arrested from near the Yamaha crossing.

Also Read: Anubhav Mittal’s Ponzi Scheme Could Be Bigger Than Saradha Scam

Solanki told the STF that he had set up a firm named Solanki Enterprises, asked several innocent persons to invest in Ablaze and earned crores of rupees like this.

He said he had purchased land worth Rs 35 lakh in Hapur from the earnings of these transactions.

Vimal informed the police that he worked as a production supervisor at Swisscon Technology. He had set up a company named Prizes Enterprises in his wife’s name and asked people to invest in Ablaze.

He earned Rs 1.5 crore by making 50 people invest in Ablaze. Last year, he purchased a flat worth Rs 45 lakh in Ghaziabad.

The arrested persons told the STF that they were members of the core team of Ablaze and worked as chief promoters of the social trading website.

Also Read: ‘Cash for Clicks’ Site Socialtrade Cheats in a Rs 3,700-Cr Scam