The Ministry of Finance has released an extract of an unstarred question raised in the Lok Sabha regarding the ever-increasing fraudulent investment apps and related scams, which were addressed by Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary.
The unstarred question No.46 was raised by Parliamentarian Lavu Sri Krishna Devarayalu raising concerns against the scams while querying what steps the government was undertaking to curb the same.
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The key issues raised in the question pertained to multiple fake investments apps that have resulted in the siphoning of millions of Rupees, including the total funds lost so far and how much of the same have been converted into cryptocurrency. Another key issue raised by Devarayulu was whether the Government had formulated any mechanism to trace the money transferred abroad and the shell companies involved in the laundering operation.
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Minister of State for Finance, Pankaj Chaudhary, at the outset averred that the Government had taken cognizance of investment frauds as a cybercrime.
Referring to the concerted efforts undertaken by the Securities Exchange Board of India (SEBI), Reserve Bank of India (RBI), Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C), Ministry of Home Affairs and Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU – IND), Ministry of Finance, the Minister stated that SEBI actively monitors financial markets for misleading and unlawful content, flagging and reporting the same to the concerned Social Media Platform Provider (SMPP).
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Stock exchanges had previously advised investors to transact on recognized stock exchange platforms through recognized stock brokers only and to be wary of fake trading platforms or fake institutional apps. Furthermore, the stock exchanges had published a whitelist of authorised stockbroker trading apps on their websites for ease of investors.
The RBI had also played an integral role in cracking down on illegal forex trading platforms, even publishing an Alert List of unauthorized foreign exchange trading platforms. One of the key measures was undertaken through strict enforcement of the KYC (Know Your Customer) and anti-money laundering (AML) measures for transactions involving virtual currencies.
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Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C) established by the Ministry of Home Affairs streamlines the process for Law-Enforcement Agencies to function in a cohesive manner while dealing with cybercrimes. Drawing help from the people, the Citizen Financial Cyber Fraud Reporting System enables victims to report scams in real-time, saving almost ₹3,919 crore across 11.2 lakh complaints.
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The latest Cyber Fraud Mitigation Centre (CFMC) enhances collaboration between banks, financial institutions, telecom service providers, Information Technology intermediaries, and law enforcement agencies from various States/Union Territories identifying a massive 9.23 lakh mule accounts, 7 lakh SIM cards, over 2 lakh IMEIs and 803 mobile apps involved in cybercrime.
The Minister of State for Finance concluded the answer by highlighting the efforts functions of the Financial Intelligence Unit – India in coordinating and strengthening national and international intelligence and investigation efforts.
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