Plymouth's 'rich kid' admits hindering fraud investigation

A former Plymouth student who gave away cash outside Drake Circus has admitted to hindering a police investigation into an alleged £3.5 million fraud. Gurvin Singh Dyal admitted failing to hand over digital data to police officers as part of enquiries into the case.

The 28-year-old admitted a civil charge of contempt of court and was sentenced to eight months in prison suspended for two years. He has been ordered to pay £10,000. The 28-year-old, regularly seen driving supercars in exotic locations, asked to be able to pay the money in £1,000 monthly instalments.

Exeter Crown Court heard the self-styled entrepreneur, the subject of a BBC documentary entitled Scamland, did not "reasonably comply" with an order to hand over material to police, made on July 22, 2020. Dyal gave passwords and pin numbers for four electronic devices seized by police, but claimed he could not remember the password for an Apple laptop, as reported by the BBC.

Defending Dyal, Kieran Vaughan KC said his client had been advised not to provide passwords or pin numbers by his solicitor on the day the order was made. He said some time then passed before he was required to do so and Dyal had given officers complete access to his emails. He had also contacted Apple about being able to access the laptop, Mr Vaughan continued.

He added it was "obvious from the efforts Mr Dyal was taking that he was genuinely attempting to get access to the laptop". However, Felicity Payne, for Devon and Cornwall Police, said there was "no good reason why Dyal was not able to remember that password".

She said he had "essentially frustrated and completely undermined the purpose of that order" and the force's ability to investigate the ongoing fraud.

"Without that data the evidential threshold is not going to be met," she said.

Judge Stephen Climie said that, after four years of visiting police stations and courts, Dyal would appreciate the "importance and significance of complying with orders made by the courts". He ordered Dyal to pay £10,000 towards the prosecution costs and granted Dyal's request to pay it at a rate of £1,000 per month.

Despite the BBC documentary exposing his activities, Gurvin Singh Dyal still has more than 700,000 followers on Instagram. His posts show him enjoying a Champagne lifestyle and driving supercars in locations such as Paris, Barcelona and St Tropez.

The entrepreneur made headlines five years ago when he shared how much money he made trading on the foreign exchange (Forex) market. In 2019, PlymouthLive reported how he handed out £10 notes to shoppers in Cornwall Street in the city centre, saying it was part of his bid to “give back to the community”.

An investigation was launched after hundreds of people reported Dyal, more usually known as Gurvin Singh, to Action Fraud after losing an estimated £3.5 million trading on Forex when it suffered a huge dip in 2019. Detective Inspector Dan Parkinson said: "Effectively they were influenced by him to invest in this and ultimately they’ve lost a huge amount of money."

Devon and Cornwall Police said the fraud investigation is still live but no charges have yet been made. Dyal vehemently denied wrong-doing to PlymouthLive, saying at the time he only acted as an affiliate marketer and was only 20 years old when signed an “introducer agreement” with a broker.