The Bombay High Court Division Bench of  Justice Ajay Gadkari and Justice Shyam Chandak refused to grant bail to 46-year-old Jerry Philips Jacob, who has been accused by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) of being the “mastermind” of an international job racket.

The  Bench said there was a “prima facie” case against Jacob. The court observed that he allegedly organised a “criminal conspiracy” with several other accused persons to traffic unemployed but educated young people from India by promising them legal jobs in foreign companies.

Promise Of Jobs Abroad:
According to the prosecution, Jacob and the other accused lured educated Indian youngsters by promising them high-paying jobs abroad. They were first taken to Bangkok and then allegedly transported by boat to Laos with the help of Chinese nationals.

After reaching Laos, the victims’ passports and other documents were taken away. They were then forced to work in fake call centres, where they had to deceive foreign investors—especially from the United Kingdom and the United States—into making cryptocurrency investments.  subjected to pay cuts and penalties even for small mistakes at the workplace.

Victims Pressured To Continue Fraud:
The prosecution said the victims were pressured to continue working if they refused to participate in the fraud. They were subjected to pay cuts and penalties even for small mistakes at their workplace  and were often threatened with serious consequences if they refused to work. When they asked to return to India, the accused allegedly demanded large amounts of money to help them go back.

Additionally, the complainant and victims were instructed to create fake social media profiles on platforms such as Facebook, Instagram and TikTok. 

The Mumbai Police said that more than 50 complaints had been filed against Jacob and his associates. According to the police, they were arrested in March 2024 when they arrived in Mumbai from Laos and have been in custody since then.

Special Court Rejects Bail:
Jacob had earlier applied for bail before a special court under the National Investigation Agency (NIA). However, the special court rejected his bail plea on December 6, 2024.

High Court Dismisses Plea:
After this, Jacob approached the Bombay High Court and filed a petition challenging  the special court’s order denying him bail.  However, the bench found no merit in his plea and dismissed the petition,  refusing to grant him bail. 

What The Court Said
The court said in its order:

"After trafficking them, they were caused to indulge in the acts of deceiving people of other countries for unlawful gains. Whenever the recruited victims/job seekers used to refuse to do the illegal online fraud work for the company and shown unwillingness for continuing the work, the arrested and wanted accused used to convince them to continue with the work to earn profit and promised that they will be promoted as 'Team Leader' in the LongSheng Company. If the victims still show their unwillingness to continue the illegal works, they were threatened of dire consequences. The victims were subjected to extortion for securing their release from the workplace and for facilitating their return to India. The alleged offence under Section 371 of IPC is punishable upto life imprisonment. The offence is serious in nature. It appears that, after release on bail, the Appellant is likely to abscond and tamper with the prosecution evidence. Therefore, we are not inclined to grant him bail,".

Case Details: Jerry Philips Jacob vs National Investigation Agency