1. How It Worked

The arrested group operated two big illegal businesses:

1. Dabba Trading- illegal share trading which excluded the stock market and SEBI. They came up with other software platforms including Castillo 9 and Stock Grow and sold them through the internet.
2. Online Betting- The online betting includes running betting facilities like Betfair.com, NexonExch.com, PavanExch and English999 where the client's place bets on cricket, football, tennis and even casino games.
   
   

2. Scale of the Racket

• Financial Transactions: These websites had transacted approximately Rs 943 crore and the bare minimum amount documented in the bank records was Rs 4.62 crore.
• Pan-India operations: The fraud was not only limited to Surat but it involved Mumbai, Ahmedabad, and Rajkot.

3. The Arrests

The SOG arrested eight prime suspects, including:

• Nandlal Gevariya (also known as Nando Vitthalbhai) and his cousin Vishal "Vicky" Gevariya — named as masterminds, with Nandlal with previous involvement in identical cases.
• Jaydeep Pipaliya, Bhavin Hirpara, Navneet Gevariya, Bhavesh Kihla, Bakul Tarsariya, and Sahil Suvagia, involved in software, finance, and customer support.
  
  

Two more suspects, Javed (JD) and Parimal Kapadiya, are still at large.

4. Evidence Seized

Police recovered a large amount of material:

• 19 mobile phones, 4 laptops
• Rs 10 lakh cash
• 31 bank passbooks, 87 cheque books, 13 SIM cards
• Paper-cutting (shredding) machine to destroy evidence.

5. Legal Action & Investigation

The accused have been booked under:

• Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita
• Securities Contracts (Regulation) Act, 1956
• SEBI Act, 1992

The officials are now charting the network of about 250 users, tracking black-money transactions, potential hawala connections, and the entire hierarchy of this illegal operation.

6. How They Lured People

They enticed people with the assurance of:

• Tax-free gains
• Zero-loss promises
• Utilization of black money accounts
• Online presence through Facebook and Instagram publicity.

7. Role of the SOG and SEBI

Following the bust, the Surat SOG submitted key materials to SEBI, as the racket involved massive illegal trading and financial fraud.
The investigation is ongoing, with police seeking information from bank officials and researching international connections.

8. Why It Matters

• Financial Impact: Illegal trading bypasses SEBI and stock regulations, costing the state taxes and investor protections.
  
  
• Large Scale: Nearly Rs 1,000 crore in transactions shows organized criminal activity.
• Cyber and financial crime overlap: Similar busts in Surat earlier revealed crypto-laundering operations worth over Rs 1,455 crore involving overseas operations.

9. What’s Next?

• More arrests are anticipated, particularly of absconding JD and Parimal.
• All financial documents, including shredded documents, to be put through forensic audit.
• Legal action involving SEBI, DCP, and SOG.
• Public awareness campaigns in Surat to curb similar illegal platforms.
  
  

In Summary

Final Thoughts

The Surat SOG operation has dealt a big blow to extensive illegal trading and betting. The case exposes how criminals utilize online platforms and black money to operate fake financial dealings. The fact that SEBI has been involved and forensic investigation has been ongoing indicates a multi-agency operation.

This crackdown in Surat is a demonstration of the increasing vigil of Indian law agencies against high-tech cyber-financial crime. It also underlines the importance of public vigilance before embracing unlicensed or suspicious online websites.

Stay with us for more.