Four held by Hyderabad police in Rs 1.46 crore matrimony-cum-investment fraud

Hyderabad: The City Cybercrime Police have arrested four persons for their alleged involvement in a Rs 1.46 crore matrimony site-based investment fraud in which cybercriminals allegedly used fake matrimonial profiles and mule bank accounts to siphon off victims’ money. The arrested suspects are Ch Sampath of Siddipet, Hechu Naresh, Endla Suresh and V Mahesh, all […]

Hyderabad: The City Cybercrime Police have arrested four persons for their alleged involvement in a Rs 1.46 crore matrimony site-based investment fraud in which cybercriminals allegedly used fake matrimonial profiles and mule bank accounts to siphon off victims’ money.

The arrested suspects are Ch Sampath of Siddipet, Hechu Naresh, Endla Suresh and V Mahesh, all residents of Secunderabad.

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Police said the suspects facilitated the operation by opening and managing mule bank accounts, withdrawing fraud proceeds and routing the money to Singapore-based cyber fraudsters through ‘hawala’ channels.

According to police, the case was registered after a victim lodged a complaint in February, alleging that fraudsters, posing as a woman on a matrimony platform, gained the victim’s confidence by promising marriage and later persuaded him to invest in a fake online investment platform with assurances of high returns.

“Believing the fabricated profits shown on the platform, the victim transferred Rs 46.65 lakh into multiple bank accounts. When he attempted to withdraw the money, he was denied access to the funds,” Cybercrime officials said.

During the investigation, officials traced the money trail to beneficiary mule accounts spread across Telangana and Maharashtra. About Rs 35 lakh of the cheated amount was routed through these bank accounts.

Police said Sampath allegedly managed mule accounts on the instructions of an absconding handler and received a 30 per cent commission. Naresh, Suresh and Mahesh allegedly helped open and operate mule accounts, withdrew the fraudulent funds and earned commissions ranging from 10 to 15 per cent.