Gujarat Man Uses Football Betting App to Defraud Victims of Rs 1,400 Crore

A Chinese national, along with Gujarat-based perpetrators, created a fraudulent football betting app that collectively conned and used 1,200 people – managing to steal around Rs 1,400 crore in nine days.

According to The Times of India, designer Woo Uyanbe, who hails from China’s Shenzhen area, was spotted scamming from Patan and Banaskantha. The Gujarat Police had to form a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to solve the case. Further, the CID was first tipped off about the same when it was found that perpetrators were duping victims – both in Gujarat and Uttar Pradesh – using the Dani Data app.

The Agra Police was the first to formally launch an investigation which led to the CID discovering the fraudulent scheme of the Chinese scammer.

“During our investigation, we came to know that a Chinese national was in India between 2020 and 2022. He spent time in Patan and Banaskantha where he met numerous locals and lured them with promises of wealth. He and his accomplice in Gujarat then launched the app in May 2022. It invited bets and promised substantial returns,” The Times of India quoted an investigator as saying.

The frequency of scams was insane. Fraudsters stole an average of 200 million rupees daily from victims aged 17 to 75 years.

In total, the fraudulent football betting app was online for 9 days. Although it may not sound like a long time, the fraudsters ended up stealing a total of Rs 1,400. After nine days, the app stopped working, leading the victims to realize they had been tricked.

In the case, as reported by The Times of India, 9 arrests have been made so far for helping a Chinese man, Woo Uyanbe, to send money to China using ‘hawala’. However, sufficient evidence could not be gathered against Woo. Uyanbe, who is also the alleged mastermind of the entire operation. He has also allegedly fled back to his native China, where he continues to pursue other plans.