Hyderabad cops arrest four top officials of two firms in Koramangala

The cybercrime sleuths of Hyderabad police have arrested four top executives of two finance-technology firms operating in Koramangala, Bengaluru in connection with the app-based money lending harassment cases.

The police said that Niranjan Umapathy, director, Water Elephant Financial Services Private Limited and Beadwallet Technologies Private Limited, Yeshi Gyatso, director, Beadwallet Technologies Private Limited, Usha BM, director, Water Elephant Financial Services Private Limited and another senior executive Nyichak Dhondup were running companies providing online instant loans and are engaged in harassment of defaulters.

The Chinese CEO and VP of Water Elephant and Beadwallet Technologies, Cheen Wu and Andy Lu Wenjie, are absconding.

According to Joint Commissioner of Police Avinash Mohanty, these offenders were lending online instant loans through apps like Flash Rupee, Raytheon Loan, Elephant Loan, Smile Loan, Vulcan Loan, Shubh Cash, Apna Loan, Frigg Loan, Loki Loan, Tiger Cash, Lion Loan, Rupeebar, Easycredit, Cashmore, Cashbull, Topcredit, Dhanilion, Marsloan, and Instacoin.

“These offenders established a call centre in the name of Water Elephant Financial Services and Beadwallet Technologies in Hustle Hub building, Koramangala and were providing loans through various apps. This centre had nearly 200 telecallers. They were harassing the debtors by making calls using virtual apps, apart from regular mobile numbers,” Mohanty said on Saturday.

The arrests come after various police raids were conducted at several such financial and telecaller firms based in Hyderabad, NCR-Delhi and Bengaluru and over 20 executives, managers including a few Chinese personnel were arrested.

The abusive treatment of the defaulters by telecaller agents of these companies has resulted in the death by suicide of at least three people in Telangana recently. These companies lure customers into taking more loans at exorbitant charges and later, humiliate them for non-payments in stipulated, short periods of time.

Dozens of cases were registered, especially under the Hyderabad, Cyberabad, and Rachakonda commissionerates that cover the Telangana capital city expanse.