BOI issues lookout circular against Chinese national in illegal digital loan app case

Bhubaneswar: Bureau of Immigration (BOI) issued a lookout circular today against LIU YI, the key accused in illegal digital loan app case, on the request of Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of Odisha Crime Branch here.

According to a press note released by the State crime-control agency, an EOW PS case (No-9, dated-the 21.04.2022, U/s 294/506/507/420/467/468/120 of IPC and 66(D) of the IT Act was earlier registered in this connection. The Chinese national used to run many illegal digital loan apps in India like: KOKO Loan, JOJO Loan, Golden Lightening Loan, Silver Kredit Loan, Gold Cash Loan, Little Borrow Loan, Tap Credit Loan, Kredit Bear Loan, Speedy Rupee Loan, Xpress Credit Loan, Kredit Plan loan, Rupee Day Loan and a few more, the EOW communiqué stated.

Meanwhile, in order to contain these types of crime and to create general awareness among public, the EOW advised people not to take any loans from unregistered and illegal loan apps available on Internet and Google Play Store.

On the pretext of advancing loan, the loan apps access and hack all information from customer’s phone, which is later used by the company to perpetrate some other financial crime. Such loan apps also harass the customers by charging not only a high rate of interest but on failure to repay the same, the crime-control agency said in its advisory.

It is worthy to mention that in one app alone there are more than 1.5 lakh downloads. It is suspected that LIU YI has cheated and extorted lakhs of people across the country. He particularly targeted lower middle class people who were in the need of small loans, especially during tough time of Covid-19 outbreak.

In some states, many people have committed suicide after being blackmailed.

The fraudster had started his illegal business in India in 2019 from Bangalore. His parent company was Jianbing Technoloy located in Hangzhou city of China. He is the director of Omlette technology private limited, but indirectly controls and owns few other companies.

There are at least two more Chinese who used to assist LIU YI in his scam.

In this case, the EOW has already arrested five accomplices of the Chinese mastermind. EOW is in touch with different state police and has conducted raids in Mumbai, Bangalore and Delhi.

More than Rs 6.57 Crore has been frozen so far.