Hyderabad police arrest seven in multi-crore investment fraud

The police seized 17 mobile phones, 2 laptops, 22 SIM cards, 4 debit cards and foreign currency from them.

Hyderabad: Seven persons who were part of an investment fraud case running into several hundred crores and having links to Dubai and China based gangs were arrested by the Hyderabad police on Saturday.

The police seized 17 mobile phones, 2 laptops, 22 SIM cards, 4 debit cards and foreign currency from them.

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The arrested persons are Prakash Mulchandbhai Prajapati, Kumar Prajapati, Naimuddin Wahiuddin Shaik, Gagan Kumar Soni, Parveez alias Guddu, Shameer Khan, Mohammed Munawar, Shah Sumair and Arul Dass.

Hyderabad Commissioner of Police, C V Anand said the fraudsters targeted people looking for high returns on small investments and conned them into paying up lakhs of rupees.

“The gang operated through whatsapp and telegram apps and sent messages to people randomly assuring huge profits on investments. After a person registered with the fake company they were conned into transferring money into different bank accounts maintained by the fraudsters and duped,” said C V Anand.

The police, while investigating into a complaint of a resident of Chikkadpally who lost Rs. 28 lakhs to the fraudsters, found that the fraudsters had opened bank accounts on names of shell companies and diverted the amount from victims into it.

The amount was later channelled to Dubai and converted into crypto currency before routing it to China. “At every level the brokers were paid commission for routing the money. A few Indians settled in Dubai were helping in routing the money,” said Hyderabad CP.

The police during the investigation found that some of the applications used for converting the money into crypto currency were used by a terror organization. “We are writing to the National Investigation Agency and the Integrated Centre for Cyber Crimes functioning under the Ministry of Home Affairs,” said C V Anand.

He appealed to the people not to get carried away by the messages of high profits and lose their money to fraudsters.