Abhishek Malhan, Elvish Yadav & Others Get Summon in 'Hibox' App Scam

Several social media influencers, including comedian Abhishek Malhan, Elvish Yadav, and Bharti Singh were issued notices for their alleged promotion of ‘Hibox', an app used to execute investment scams to the tune of Rs 500 crore, said the Delhi Police. Over 30,000 people were duped, they said.

Hibox App Scam:

Police said the notices were issued after the Special Cell's Intelligence Fusion and Strategic Operations (IFSO) unit arrested the main accused, J Sivaram (30), director of Hibox's parent company, Sutrulla Express Private Limited. The firm's accounts were allegedly used to move the cheated amount, officers said.

Influencers are Summoned:

According to police, 10 ‘influencers' — Saurav Joshi; Abhishek Malhan @ Fukra Insaan; Purav Jha; Elvish Yadav; Bharti Singh; Harsh Limbachiya; Lakshay Choudhary; Adarsh Singh; Amit @ Crazy XYZ; and Dilraj Singh Rawat @ Indian hacker — were issued notices for allegedly influencing people to use the app.

Photo Credit: Pixabay

As per the reports in Indian Express, the Police mentioned that these influencers allegedly lured people through advertisements and promotional activities to invest their money in return for high profits. Five of the 10 influencers named were summoned by the IFSO. 

DCP (IFSO) Hemant Tiwari, "Elvish Yadav and Bharti Singh are among the five summoned. Others will be summoned in the coming days. They will be questioned regarding their deal with the mobile app and asked about how much they were paid for brand endorsement."

About the Case:

Hibox was launched in February 2024 but was developed in July 2023. "They (the accused) developed the backend, opened merchant accounts with Easebuzz and PhonePe, and opened front offices in Noida throughout 2023, before formally launching the app," a police officer claimed.

In April 2024, after YouTubers and other influencers did promotional videos, the app started giving movements for investments. "Initially, in five months, Hibox gave returns of 1% daily and 30% monthly with a block duration of 24 hours," DCP Tiwari said.

According to police, the alleged scam came to light on August 16 when the IFSO received complaints from 29 people, who claimed they invested via the app on the pretext of 30% to 90% monthly returns. Investigation revealed that another FIR was registered at the Northeast district's cyber police station, where nine more people alleged being scammed by Hibox.

"Later, 30 other complaints from the Northeast district, 35 complaints from the Outer district, 24 complaints from Shahdara District, and 488 complaints on the NCRP portal with similar modus operandi came to light," said DCP Tiwari.

The five influencers summoned will join the investigation on Friday.