Singapore company swindles Chhindwara farmers in Rs 5 Crore online scam

As many as 574 farmers were allegedly duped by the company which engaged a local person to target locals for the scam. Many local leaders and sarpanches are among the affected.

Chhindwara(Madhya Pradesh): A Singaporean company duped 574 farmers from Chhindwara district of more than Rs 5 crore in an online swindling scam, police said.

According to the police, the company promised 40% profits per month to the farmers in the scheme which served as a lure for the victims to fall prey to this deception. Some farmers invested as little as Rs 1, while others poured money ranging from Rs 5 to a staggering Rs 20-25 lakh. In total, over Rs 5 crore were invested by the farmers with an expectation to earn 40% profit on the invested money per month.

Initially, few farmers gained profit from their investments. Initial profits encouraged them to invest more in the online company. However, the app abruptly ceased to function on August 20. Consequently, the victims reached out to the police for help. The farmers have accused the team leader of the company of misleading them with promises of doubling their investments.

Assistant Superintendent of Police(ASP), Awadhesh Pratap Singh said that complaints were lodged against a resident of Khairi Bhutai, a place in Chhindwara, alleging his involvement. The person has allegedly lured locals to double their investments through the mobile app.

Superintendent of Police(SP) Vinayak Verma said, "We have received multiple complaints of this online fraud and we have registered the complaints against the company and its team leader." Initial investigation indicates that investments were funnelled into the Zoetrope online app through the Khairi Bhutai resident.

Intriguingly, money was funnelled into the Zoetrope app via UPI, and tickets for popular Hollywood and Bollywood movies were purportedly purchased, generating daily profits of up to 5 per cent. Initially, investors experienced favourable returns.

Adding a twist to the story, the accused team leader has also presented himself to the police as a victim of the same online fraud. In a formal complaint, he claimed to have been deceived by the Zoetrope Company from Singapore.