CHENNAI: Three persons, including two women, were arrested by the cyber crime wing of the Central Crime Branch in connection with a Rs 3.4 crore online investment fraud carried out through a fake WhatsApp trading group. A mobile phone used in the offence was seized. Police nabbed Murugesh (49) of Melur, and Hepsi (35) and Panchavarnam (33), both from Thoothukudi, on Wednesday. They were remanded in judicial custody on Thursday. Last month, Balasubramanian (51) of Thanjavur was arrested in the same case.
According to police, Balasubramanian played a key role in coordinating the fraud, while Murugesh allegedly allowed his bank account to be used for receiving the money. Hepsi and Panchavarnam are accused of helping procure and route bank accounts through intermediaries in return for commission. The case was registered on a complaint from Sathyanathan (68) of Adyar, who alleged that he was added to a WhatsApp group titled ‘FYERS VIP’, after fraudsters posed as officials of a Bengaluru-based brokerage firm. He was asked to download a trading application and, between July 7 and July 25, transferred Rs 3.4 crore to 13 different bank accounts.