KOCHI: He never expected a phone call from the staff of a financial institution in the city to cost him Rs 9.20 lakh. The Kadavanthra resident, Aravindakshan Nair, fell into the trap laid by fraudsters who convinced him that their ‘firm’ had sanctioned a loan of Rs 1.5 crore.
Based on his complaint, the Ernakulam Town South police launched a probe that revealed a four-member gang was into duping people using the name of a financial institution, Easy Fin, for which they were working in the city. While one accused — Gokul, 29, of Thiruvannamalai in Tamil Nadu -- has been arrested, a search is on for Alappuzha resident Sivakarthick, 45, and Ernakulam residents Ajith and Vinodh, both 50.
“We have launched a detailed probe into the fraud. The other accused have gone into hiding, and we are in the process of tracing them,” said South Station House Officer Faisal M S. On April 2, the accused contacted Aravindakshan over telephone and promised him a loan of Rs 1.5 crore.
To process the loan, they directed him to send his account details and other necessary documents, the police said. Believing their offer to be genuine, he sent his account details, copies of identity cards, and photographs to the accused who later sent him a letter, via WhatsApp, on the financial institution letterhead showing that the amount has been sanctioned. The accused further demanded six percent of the sanctioned amount as stamp fee to disburse the loan, the police said.
“As directed by the accused, on April 8, he transferred Rs 10,000 to an account with the Theethipalayam (Coimbatore) branch of the South Indian Bank. Later, he gave Rs 3 lakh in cash. He also transferred `6 lakh to an account with the ICICI Bank’s Chennai branch, and another Rs 10,000 to an account with a Kotak Mahindra Bank branch in Karnataka,” a police officer said.
Gokul was nabbed after tracking his mobile phone number.
The sessions court dismissed his bail application, the officer added.