ALAPPUZHA: A special investigation team took two Taiwan nationals into custody from Gujarat on Tuesday in connection with the biggest online fraud registered in Kerala.
According to the Crime Branch, Wang Chun Wei, 26, and Shen Wei Haw, 35, living in Taoyuan City, Pingzhen district of Taiwan, were arrested by the Gujarat police for ripping Rs 7.65 crore from a doctor couple from Cherthala in Kerala's Alappuzha district, offering a big profit in online share trading in the April-June months last year. The Crime Branch investigation found that the duo were the brain behind the online fraud, the biggest single instance in Kerala.
Earlier the Crime Branch arrested five others including three Malayalees in the case. The Taiwanese were the brain behind the multi-crore fraud and a Chinese company was behind the fraud, officials said.
Earlier the Crime Branch team led by the District Crime Branch Dy SP A Sunil Raj arrested Rajasthan native Nirmal Jain, 22, from Pali in Rajasthan. He had a direct link with the company. He converted the stashed money into cryptocurrency.
The incident came to light after a complaint was received at the portal of the District Crime Records Bureau (DCRB) on June 20, 2024. Based on the complaint, the police registered a case and started an investigation.
The fraudsters duped the amount in the name of Invesco Mutual Fund and Goldman Sachs. The fraudsters introduced them as top officials of the share trading companies and offered high profits for investments. They also showed the profit statement of Rs 39.72 crore in the internal equity account of the investor, when the investor deposited Rs 7.60 crore.
The fraudsters also advised the doctor to increase the investment to Rs 15 crore. It created suspicion and the couple approached police and the department constituted a special investigation team.
The special team arrested Muhammad Anaz, 25, a native of Kodakunnummel, Koduvally in Kozhikode, Pravish, 35, of Puthoor, Omayoor, and Abdul Samad, 39, East Valley Apartment, Chevayoor in July last year. Later the investigation team arrested Bhagavan Ram Patel, a native of Thamakkuru, Karnataka.
After the arrest of Bhagavan, the police team identified the role of Nirmal. After the arrest of Bhagavan, Nirmal went into hiding. The special team from Alappuzha reached Pali and started a search for Nirmal, but found that he had abandoned the mobile phone and went to hide in a mutt, which is located around 50 km away from Pali.
The team arrested him from the hideout on October 11, 2024. It led to the arrest of the Taiwanese nationals who lived in Taiwan. They were brought to Cherthala and will be produced in the court on Wednesday, officials said.