Six held in TN for duping man of Rs 14 crore by promising 500 per cent return; probe into crypto transactions on

Measures are being taken to arrest the gang from north India, which, according to the police, masterminded the network.
The complainant in the case had been approached by a gang member in April, soliciting investment in a firm named ‘Black Rock’ by promising 500% returns in two months.
The complainant in the case had been approached by a gang member in April, soliciting investment in a firm named ‘Black Rock’ by promising 500% returns in two months. Photo | Express Illustrations
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2 min read

CHENNAI: The Tamil Nadu police’s cyber crime wing has busted an organised network, which was involved in defrauding a person of Rs 14 crore and siphoning it into cryptocurrency accounts.

An official release on Monday said that police arrested six members of the network, including a shop owner in Pulianthope, who converted the defrauded cash into USDT, a form of cryptocurrency, and two men working in the film industry. Measures are being taken to arrest the gang from north India, which, according to the police, masterminded the network.

The complainant in the case had been approached by a gang member in April, soliciting investment in a firm named ‘Black Rock’ by promising 500% returns in two months. The fraudster introduced himself as a representative of Black Rock Asset Management Business School and claimed that Black Rock was SEBI-approved.

He convinced the complainant to invest with a stipulation that he must pay a 20% service charge on the profits generated from the investment. The complainant was then persuaded to download a mobile application named Black Rock Co-branded IIFL Cooperative Platform (BR IIFL PRO) through a link and he invested Rs 14 crore into various bank accounts.

When the complainant realised that the invested money was not being returned, he filed a complaint with the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal. Based on this, an FIR was registered at Cyber Crime Wing Headquarters, Chennai-State Cyber Crime Investigation Centre (SCCIC) and the 13 accounts, to which the money was transferred, were frozen.

Subsequently, police arrested accused V Subramanian from Chengalpattu, who is the first layer beneficiary ICICI Bank account holder of the fraudulent transaction, which was of Rs 21.5 lakh. Based on his confession, officials unearthed the money trail and found that Subramanian’s bank account had been taken on rent by one Manikandan (30), who worked in a film producer’s office. This had happened through Madan(43), a chit fund owner in T Nagar, R Saravanapriyan (34), an associate producer in the film industry and his friend Sathish Singh (46).

A portion of the defrauded money was sent by Manikandan from Subramanian’s account to Shafahed (38), a shop owner in Pulianthope who converted currency into USDT in Dubai and Chennai, the release said. Police said all six have been arrested. Two cryptocurrency wallets have been frozen, while action is being taken to recover the defrauded money.

Police have advised people to avoid lending their bank accounts or cryptocurrency wallets as it can be misused for financial fraud by cyber fraudsters.

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