KOCHI: Police on Saturday arrested three persons for allegedly swindling `90 lakh from retired Kerala High Court judge Sasidharan Nambiar in a cyber fraud case. The arrested have been identified as Thalassery residents Muhammad Sha, Mirshad, and Muhammad Sharjil.
According to Kochi Cyber Police, a portion of the defrauded amount was traced to the bank accounts of Sha and Mirshad. After withdrawing the money through ATMs, the duo reportedly handed it over to Sharjil, who converted the cash into bitcoins and transferred it to the main accused, who remains at large.
The fraud occurred in January this year when cyber criminals contacted Justice Sasidharan posing as representatives of a prominent investment firm. They offered lucrative returns on investments, which prompted the retired judge to transfer funds into their scheme. However, the promised returns never materialised. Realising he had been duped, Justice Sasidharan filed a complaint with the police.
“Immediately after the case was registered, we were able to block several bank accounts to which the funds were transferred. This helped us recover around Rs 43 lakh,” a police officer said.
Investigators tracked the money trail through bank records and discovered that funds were withdrawn from an ATM in Thalassery. Police obtained CCTV footage from the ATM and identified Sha and Mirshad, who were taken into custody on Friday. Their interrogation led to the arrest of Sharjil.
Police believe that Sha and Mirshad may not have been fully aware that they were aiding a cyber fraud operation. “They were introduced to an online trading platform and were led to believe that the funds deposited into their accounts were part of legitimate trading activity. They also received small commissions from the fraudsters,” the officer said.
However, investigators suspect Sharjil had deep knowledge of the racket’s operations. “He was responsible for collecting the withdrawn funds and converting them into bitcoin. Since he was arrested late Friday night and brought to Kochi, a detailed interrogation is pending. We suspect he has key information about the main operatives behind the fraud,” the officer added.
Police plan to seek custody of the accused for further questioning to trace the masterminds and understand the network involved in the high-profile cyber scam.