KOCHI: Three more key accused have been arrested in connection with the online fraud case in which a city-based businessman lost Rs 25 crore, the country’s largest single-victim investment scam.
Rahees P K (39), Ansar V (39), and Anees Rahman C K (25) were arrested from Pantheerankavu in Kozhikode, bringing the total number of arrests in the case to four. Earlier, the Special Investigation Team had arrested a 38-year-old woman, Sujitha G, from Kollam.
According to the case Kochi cyber police registered on September 1, the 49-year-old victim, a resident of Elamkulam, was lured into the fake investment scheme after being contacted by a Malayalam-speaking man who introduced himself as ‘Daniel’. The con artist engaged the businessman in conversations about stock trading. The victim was convinced to transfer a staggering Rs 24.76 crore across numerous bank accounts.
The elaborate nature of the deception was revealed when the businessman tried to sell the shares on the supposed online trading platform, Capitalix, only to realise that the entire platform was a fraudulent setup.
“While arresting the accused, we could recover around 40 mobile phones, documents relating to 40 bank accounts, and over 200 SIM cards. It’s suspected that they are involved in many other cyber cases. We’ve received info on more people involved in the fraud,” City Police Commissioner Putta Vimaladitya said.
According to the officer, the three accused persons were handling many bank accounts used to route the money outside the country.
“We haven’t yet been able to trace the money, but the probe has revealed that these accused took Rs 3.4 lakh out of the siphoned amount. We, though, have taken measures to freeze and recover one account in which `40 lakh was transferred into,” the commissioner said.
The online trading platform Capitalix was hosted outside. “We’re taking measures to block access to this website,” he added. Investigators believe the funds were transferred to various countries, including Cyprus. A letter was sent to the police authorities in Cyprus seeking details, but police are yet to receive a response.
