Sivaram Jayaraman owner of the Hibox Mystery box app has been arrested in the Rs 500 crore scam
Delhi police have discovered a network of upscale offices, a registered company, and possible masterminds located in South Asia as a result of their investigation into an alleged Rs 500-crore investment fraud utilizing the Hibox smartphone application.
According to police sources, the Delhi Police Special Cell’s Intelligence Fusion and Strategic Operations (IFSO) branch has discovered that the purported scam was planned in December 2022 and was carried out with the help of Hibox smartphone application.
Who is Sivaram Jayaraman of Chennai owner of the Hibox Mystery box app arrested in Rs 500 crore scam
Five well-known social media influencers, including YouTubers Elvish Yadav and Bharti Singh, have been called by the Delhi Police in a significant crackdown over an extensive app-based scam that robbed investors of about Rs 500 crore. The influencers have been named in the investigation for promoting the app online.
Those named in the investigation include Saurav Joshi, Abhishek Malhan, Purav Jha, Elvish Yadav, Bharti Singh, Harsh Limbachiya, Lakshay Choudhary, Adarsh Singh. Amit and Dilraj Singh Rawat.
Investigations also indicate potential negligence from payment gateway companies EASEBUZZ and PhonePe, as these platforms were used to facilitate transactions for HIBOX and he police suspect that these companies might have bypassed proper verification procedures while setting up merchant accounts for the HIBOX operators.
The ‘HIBOX’ smartphone application, which promised consumers guaranteed returns on their investments but was actually a front for illicit operations, was promoted as part of the hoax.
This is seen as part of an elaborate scam that reportedly defrauded nearly 30,000 people, who were lured into investing in Hibox mobile application by promising high returns on false assurance of daily interest rate ranging from 1 to 5 percent.
From February to June, the investors received high returns, while from July the app withheld the payments on account of technical glitches, GST issues and legal issues.
The company Sutrulla Xpress Private Ltd, which was established in November 2016, is at the core of Hibox app. This corporation is reported as having a single director, Sivaram Jayaraman, 30 of Chennai from whose four bank accounts Rs.18 crore has been recovered. The company’s address is listed as Hibox India, Fortune One, Noida-Greater Noida Exp C-5, Sector 126 Noida, Uttar Pradesh 201303 with Malek Salah named as the Chief Operating Officer.
Amaris Financial Partners is own of the investors in the company with them investing $20 million in the company which has raised $70 million till date.
Hibox Mystery Box is the brainchild of Malek Salah, an entrepreneur with a passion for innovation who came up with the idea in Vietnam.
เคฎเฅเคฌเคพเคเคฒ เคเคช HIBOX เคเฅ เคเคฐเคฟเคฏเฅ 30 เคนเคเคพเคฐ เคฒเฅเคเฅเค เคเฅ 500 เคเคฐเฅเคกเคผ เคฐเฅเคชเคฏเฅ เค เคเคจเฅ เคเฅ เคเคฐเฅเคช เคจเฅ เคฆเคฟเคฒเฅเคฒเฅ เคชเฅเคฒเคฟเคธ เคจเฅ เคเคฐเฅเคชเฅ เคเฅ. เคถเคฟเคตเคฐเคพเคฎ เคเฅ เคเคฟเคฐเคซเฅเคคเคพเคฐ เคเคฐ 4 เคเคพเคคเฅเค เคฎเฅเค 18 เคเคฐเฅเคกเคผ เคฐเฅเคชเคฏเฅ เคเคฌเฅเคค เคเคฟเค เคนเฅเคเฅค
HIBOX เคเคช เคเคพ เคชเฅเคฐเคฎเฅเคถเคจ เคเคฐเคจเฅ เคตเคพเคฒเฅ เคซเฅเคเคฐเคพ เคเคเคธเคพเคจ, เคเคฒเฅเคตเคฟเคถ เคฏเคพเคฆเคต, เคฒเคเฅเคทเฅเคฏ เคเฅเคงเคฐเฅ เคเคฐ เคชเฅเคฐเคต เคเคพ เคญเฅ เคจเฅเคเคฟเคธ เคเคพเคฐเฅ เคเคฟเคฏเคพ เคเคฏเคพ เคนเฅเฅค pic.twitter.com/CAa2myYkJt
โ Utkarsh Singh (@UtkarshSingh_) October 3, 2024
According to DCP (IFSO) Hemant Tiwari, influencers, including Bollywood celebrities who endorsed the app, have been called in relation to the arrest of Jayaraman, the “Indian front” of this scam. He stated that bank accounts belonging to the suspects had been confiscated of Rs 18 crore, and that the police were attempting to track down the app’s developer.
The scam, estimated to be worth Rs 500 crore, involved making bogus claims of daily interest rates ranging from 1 percent to 5 percent in exchange for huge returns on investments.
โHibox app was created in February 2024 and started its operations online, but its members started giving movements in April 2024 after YouTube/ influencers promotional videos,โ a police source revealed.
According to sources, Jayaraman is from Chennai and is purportedly operating under the direction of two conspirators stationed in South Asia who initially invested Rs 25 lakh in the app. They subsequently contributed an additional Rs 1 crore to help the app take off.
“Sivaram opened bank accounts; his company employed about fifty people. He even succeeded in leasing office space under the business’s name. He served as the scam’s front man. Those who are residing overseas are the ones with the most brains behind it,” stated an officer.
Big congratulations to @DCP_IFSO for cracking down on the โน500 CR #HiBoxScam, which robbed 30,000 innocent people of their life savings! ๐๐ฅ
Breaking: Key accused J. Shivram has been arrested in this massive scam! ๐จ
Huge shout-out to everyone who supported ourโฆ https://t.co/skfvdX2DAq
โ Akassh Ashok Gupta (@peepoye_) October 3, 2024