Lending app scam: The big question facing Nepal cops

Nepal police HQ in Kathmandu

The call centres set up by Chinese nationals in Nepal to extort money from borrowers of instant loan apps didn't target local residents, making it difficult for the police in the Himalayan nation to press serious charges in the case. So far, the Nepal police have busted three call centres whose employees harassed only Indians. The cops are keen to contact Indian victims through consular channels so that they can invoke Nepali laws dealing with organised crimes.

The Nepal police have so far arrested 190 people, including five Chinese nationals and two Indians, in the case. The action came after mid-day exposed the racket and ran multiple reports highlighting the different facets of the crime.

The call centre at Butwal where 150 people were arrested last week

A senior officer of Nepal police told mid-day that they have already shared with their Indian peers the details of their recent raids at the call centres in Kathmandu and Rupandehi district.

Also Read: In Game of Loans, Mumbai Crime Branch dials the Nepal police

"As of now, we don't have any law to book them as there is no complaint in Nepal against the loan apps. So far, we have booked them for creating public nuisance as the calls and morphed photos were targeted only at Indians. Unless we have victims here, we can't book them under stringent sections of Nepali laws," said the Nepal police officer.

DIG Tek Prasad Rai, information officer, Nepal police

Under Nepali laws, a case for creating a public nuisance carries a maximum punishment of 3 years along with a fine of 10,000 Nepalese rupees.

But it is not impossible to upgrade the case with stringent sections.

Hundreds of laptops and PCs seized from the three call centres have been sent for forensic analysis, said the Nepal police

Sources in the Nepal police if the Indian government sends a few victims to Nepal with the help of its embassy or their statements through official channels, those arrested by them including the Chinese nationals can be booked under the country's Electronic Transactions Act where the guilty can be jailed for up to 5 years. They can also invoke sections of the Prevention of Organised Crime Act, 2069 (2013) where the maximum punishment is 7.5 years.

‘China sent chartered plane'

Local police officers said they used to deport people arrested for indulging in illegal activities to their respective countries if there was no complaint in Nepal. In December 2019, the Nepal police had busted an illegal call centre targeting Indians and arrested 120 Chinese nationals. But they simply had to deport them back to China as there was no complaint against them in Nepal. The Chinese government had sent a chartered plane to Kathmandu to bring back those arrested. "This time we are going to prosecute them here as per the registered case which is creating public nuisance but if the Indian authorities approach us with victims' statements or send them here through official channels, we will apply stringent sections to ensure maximum punishment for the accused," said an officer.

‘Will cooperate with India'

DIG Tek Prasad Rai, information officer of Nepal police, told mid-day, "We are ready to provide all assistance to Indian authorities to probe this matter as we have read various news reports about victims committing suicide and we also want to get to the root of this case. We are waiting for forensic reports of the computers and laptops seized from the multiple calls centres."

The Nepal police have seized more than 100 terabytes of data that includes porn clips, morphed photographs and abusive content integrated with software which is very difficult to decrypt. "The messages stored in the software were sent to the relatives and friends of the loan borrowers in India. In those messages, they claimed that the borrower was absconding after raping a minor and was involved in terror activities. They also sent morphed photos of female borrowers saying that they were available for paid sex to repay their loans," said the officer. "Some of the borrowers in India have paid lakhs of rupees for just Rs 5,000-Rs 10,000 loans," said Rai.

The Mumbai cyber cell was the first to approach Interpol through the CBI, the nodal agency, mid-day ran a series of reports highlighting that the abusive calls and doctored images originated from Nepal. Sources in Mumbai cyber cell said they came across over 200 instant loan apps during their probe and every app had a Nepal link.

Chinese nationals tough nuts

The Kathmandu police which arrested four Chinese nationals from an illegal call centre Thamel, a famous tourist place, said the individuals are not cooperating with them. "They don't even have their passports and every time we ask them about the illegal activities they don't utter a word. They are also not revealing their names despite our taking the help of a translator. They bang their head on the wall to get hospitalised and delay the investigation," said an officer privy to the investigation.

What Nepal cops want

. Those arrested have been booked for creating public nuisance that carries maximum punishment of 3 yrs

. Nepal cops are keen to upgrade case with Electronic Transactions Act where the guilty can be jailed for up to 5 years; they can also invoke Prevention of Organised Crime Act, 2069 (2013) where maximum punishment is 7.5 yrs

100 TB
Data seized by Nepal cops from the call centres