Getting Deeper into Jillian Consultants and its shell companies

The Chinese Loan Apps scam was the biggest strike on the privacy of Indian citizens by Chinese nationals. Multiple mobile apps, companies, and fake directors were used to perpetrate this scam. Regtechtimes’ investigation into the details of this scam reveals some shocking facts.

For the quick reference of the banks and other stakeholders, we have provided the annexures for immediate action. A consolidated list of all the companies, their identification numbers, Directors, and their Identification numbers is available at the end of this report.

What is the Chinese Loan Apps Scam?

The modus operandi of the Chinese Loan Apps Scam (CLAPS) was as follows

• • During the pandemic, Chinese citizens set up their businesses in India. They hired Indians as the directors of their companies and disguised the business as a finance company.
  • This finance company provided small amounts of loans to low-income group individuals desperate for cash during the pandemic. Loans were as small as $150. The finance company was not approved by the Banking Regulators, making the whole operation illegal.
  • The loan approval was instant over the loan app but required access to the mobile phone, address books, photos, messages, etc. There were more than 25 such apps which were dealing with instant loans. This grossly violated privacy laws.
  • Money Mules were hired in India for the recovery of money from the borrowers. On many occasions, they were also tasked to receive the money in their own bank accounts or the bank accounts of the companies they represent. Later they were also tasked to initiate the transfers to other shell companies or convert the same to cryptocurrencies.
  • This private information was used for threatening and blackmailing when the borrowers were not able to pay the loans. Ex: Man having an extramarital affair was threatened to expose him before his wife. Some individuals committed suicide in this case.

How the money was laundered?

There were multiple violations in this operation.

• These loan apps had no approval from the banking regulator the whole operation became illegal.
• It also violated privacy laws.
• Money Mules were hired to represent the illegal operations
• Borrowers were harassed and blackmailed.
• Additionally, multiple shell companies were floated to route the money received from these operations. The list of companies associated with the Jilian Consultants is available in this report.
• Money received from honest borrowers was routed through these shell companies and was converted to cryptocurrencies.
• It was later remitted to the Chinese Parent company and Chinese individuals using #binance and #wazirx.
• When the AML watchdog of India started investigations on cryptocurrency exchanges it also triggered a Twitter war between the exchanges.
  

  Jilian Consultants – Mastermind was traced

  The Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO) recently caught and apprehended Mr. Dosrtse of Jillian Consultants, who was the brains behind a scheme aiming to set up several shell businesses with connections to China in India and appoint fictitious directors to their boards.

  According to their website, Jillian Consultants is a subsidiary of the Hong Kong-based Jilian Hong Kong Ltd, a company specializing in cross-border financial aid and tax auditing, compliance, mergers and acquisitions, and company registration assistance. It mostly caters to Chinese companies operating in other countries. Regtechtimes research shows that Jillian incorporated many companies in India and the annexure attached with this report shows the list of all companies.

  Following the allegations and raid by the SFIO, however, Jilian Consultants was compelled to cease its operations in India. Even ordinary duties like sending emails, attending meetings, and getting in touch with clients, are no longer possible, according to a statement released by the company.
  The SFIO conducted search and seizure operations at the firm’s Gurgaon office following accusations that the company was paying off individuals to act as dummy directors for shell companies. The company continues to deny the claims.

  Dortse Luo – Mastermind of Jilian Consultant

  Investigators found boxes containing fake director digital signatures and business seals at the scene, which were seized and used as evidence to arrest Mr. Dortse for fraud. Dortse was the mastermind of the Chinese Loan app scam.

  His complete name is Dortse Luo (son of Womi Luo). He provided his residential address T.C.V SCHOOL, SUJA 3, MANDI, Himachal Pradesh, 175032.

  The employees from the Indian office were found to be communicating with the China-based personnel using a Chinese instant messaging app. Additionally, it was discovered that Husys Ltd, an HR consulting firm, was representing Jilian India Ltd.

  Decrypting the Corporate Network

  There are many companies associated with this nationwide loan app scam. Jilian India was represented by Dortse and was the mastermind of the whole scam. There were a few more individuals associated with this company viz.

  1. Wan Jun – Residing at Room 504, No. 875 Gonghexin Road, Zhabei District, SHANGHAI is a Chinese National. He is also on the board of Finnity, which is a subsidiary company of Jilian.
  2. Sakshi Bansal – Residing at 187-A, Chandrapuri, GHAZIABAD – 201001 was on the board of Jilian till June’2018. She was associated with 4 more companies associated with the scam.
  3. Dortse Luo – He is the mastermind of the whole scam and was found to be a resident of Himachal Pradesh.
  4. Sridharan Unnikrishnan – Resident of NO.23/9, A G S COLONY, I MAIN ROAD, VELACHERY, CHENNAI – 600015. He was associated with Jilian till Jan 2018. He is a director disqualified under 164(2) of the Companies Act 2013 from 1st November 2017 to 31st October 2022.

  Tyto Network Technologies P Ltd

  This was another company in the group of Jilian Consulting. Deepak and Divyansh have been additionally appointed as dummy administrators in Tyto Community Pvt Ltd run by Jilian Consultants India Pvt Ltd and have been supplied 64% and 16% shares of the corporate

  Husys Consulting Ltd

  According to preliminary findings, Husys Ltd. and Jilian Hong Kong Ltd. struck a deal to create and use these shell companies to perpetrate fraud using micro-loan apps. Husys Ltd., which is registered in Hyderabad, was also raided by the SFIO, along with Bangalore-based Fininty Pvt Ltd.

  All investigations to date have shown that these shell corporations may have been involved in severe financial crimes that may jeopardize the nation’s financial security.
  The two directors of Jilian Consultants India Private Limited are Dortse and an unnamed Chinese national. According to the documents submitted to the Registrar of Companies, Dortse had previously demonstrated that he was a resident of Mandi in Himachal Pradesh.

  According to the SFIO, Dortse allegedly tried to flee from Delhi NCR to seek refuge after catching wind of the claims and was caught in Bihar while attempting to leave India by road. The SFIO was able to catch Mr. Dosrtse before he was able to depart the country, and he was afterward brought before the jurisdictional court, where orders for his transit detention were secured. The future of Jilian Consultants in India is still yet to be determined and has been no further news on whether it has been allowed to resume its operations in the country.

  Chinese Loan Apps

  Chinese Loan apps were a threat to the privacy of Indian Citizens. They were programmed in such a way that information about the app users’ Bluetooth, Camera, Location, Address Book, and Photos was granted to these apps. After obtaining the access permissions, the contacts, chats, messages, and images of the user were uploaded to the servers based in China and Hong Kong.

  The customers were receiving calls from different numbers (procured on fake IDs) forcing them to pay more and more by threatening them using the morphed pictures. Due to fear and stigma, the users began paying them money in different bank accounts opened against fake IDs

  Name of the apps which have been identified by police are —

  1. Raise cash app
  2. PP money app
  3. Rupees master app
  4. Cash ray app
  5. Mobipocket app
  6. Papa money app
  7. Infinity cash app
  8. Kredit mango app
  9. Kredit marvel app
  10. CB loan app
  11. Cash advance app
  12. HDB loan app
  13. Cash tree app
  14. Raw loan app
  15. Under Process
  16. Minute cash app
  17. Cash light app
  18. Cash fish app
  19. HD credit app
  20. Ruppes land app
  21. Cash room app
  22. Rupee loan app
  23. Well Kredit app