HYDERABAD: A realtor was duped of Rs 7.19 crore over nine months in a fraudulent foreign remittance scam. The victim transferred the money to 80 bank accounts before he realised that he was cheated by cyber fraudsters.
In connection with the scam, the Telangana Cyber Security Bureau apprehended one of the accused, Sunil Kumar Maasthi Rathnappa (35), in Bengaluru. He received Rs 38.5 lakh from the victim within four months, the police said. Efforts are on to trace and apprehend the others involved in the case.
The scam unfurled when the victim’s real estate business partner Giri introduced him to his friend Rathod stating that he had a good business deal that would help them earn money.
Rathod, who is another accused, reportedly told the victim that one of his disciples from a foreign country, Augustin, had sent a huge sum of Rs 100 crore as a donation, sources told TNIE.
However, the international remittances were seized by the customs department at the Hyderabad International Airport and could be released if certain charges were paid, he told the victim. Rathod promised him that if he paid the money to release the seized donation, he would give him a 30 per cent commission on the total amount.
The accused shared forged letters allegedly issued by foreign banks, the RBI and other international agencies via WhatsApp to bolster their credibility, the TGCSB officials said.
Trusting Rathod, the victim kept paying money to release the funds to reportedly clear a processing fee, transaction advance tax and other charges. One of the accounts that the victim paid money to belongs to Sunil Kumar.
Besides, Sunil who claimed to have political connections showed a counterfeit letter from the Ministry of Textiles to the victim saying Rathod had been appointed as the Chairman of the National Jute Board for three years. Sunil convinced the realtor that the funds would soon be released with Rathod’s influence.
However, when the realtor released that although he kept paying money, no clearances were obtained thus far. He then reached out to the Telangana Cyber Security Bureau to complain the accused persons.