Khammam police bust Rs 547 crore cyber fraud, arrest 18 persons

Khammam district police have uncovered a massive cybercrime racket involving fraud worth Rs 547 crore. The gang, linked to international cybercriminals, lured unemployed youth with fake job promises, opened bank accounts in their names, and siphoned off funds through fraudulent schemes including investments, matrimony, and cryptocurrency trading.

Khammam: The district police busted a major cybercrime gang that allegedly committed a fraud worth Rs.547 crore by collaborating with international cybercriminals and arrested 18 persons of the 24 persons booked in the case.

Speaking to the media at Penuballi police station on Sunday, Commissioner of Police Sunil Dutt informed that the main accused Udathaneni Vikas Chowdary, Potru Manoj Kalyan, Potru Praveen, Meda Bhanuprakash, Meda Sathish, and Morampudi Chennakesava committed cybercrimes by luring unemployed youth with the promise of jobs and looted the money.

The cyber fraud came to light during an investigation based on a complaint filed on December 24, 2025 by Moduga Saikiran of Tumburu in Sathupalli mandal. When the police examined the bank accounts of the family members and associates of the accused, Vikas Chowdary and Manoj Kalyan, shocking details were revealed.

The police found that transactions worth Rs 114.18 crore had taken place in Manoj Kalyan’s bank account, Rs 45.62 crore in his wife Meda Bhanupriya’s two bank accounts, Rs 135.48 crore in the account of Manoj Kalyan’s brother-in-law Meda Sathish, Rs 81.72 crore in Bommidala Nagalakshmi’s account, Rs 92.54 crore in the Narasimha Kirana and Dairy account belonging to a person named Tatikonda Raju of Karimnagar as well as Rs 80.41 crore in Udathaneni Vikas Chowdary’s account.

The accused allegedly lured unemployed youth from Sathupalli and surrounding villages with the promise of jobs, opened bank accounts for them in prominent banks, obtained their account credentials, and then used those accounts to deposit crores of rupees obtained through cybercrimes, the CP explained.

These criminals collaborated with international cybercrime offenders, operating call centres abroad. Through these centres, they defrauded citizens in the country under the guise of investment, matrimony, reward points, gaming, betting, stock market investments and cryptocurrency trading.

If anyone was lured by their promises, the accused added them to their Telegram groups and sent fraudulent links to them, resulting in their bank accounts being emptied. Initially, they transferred the proceeds of the cybercrime to bank accounts opened through their agents.

The money was later transferred to several current accounts and finally to their personal accounts, where it was converted into US dollars and cryptocurrency. As part of the investigation, Potru Praveen was initially arrested and produced in court.

For assisting the accused in this cybercrime racket, the police arrested Junjunuri Sivakrishna, Vadlamudi Narendra, Malladi Siva, Sadhu Pavan Sandeep, Sadhu Sandhya and Sadhu Lekha of Sadashivapalem, Seetharampuram, Ramanagaram, and Thummuru villages in the district.

Similarly, Jonnadula Tirumala, Kandukuri Manikanta, Tanniru Mahesh, Gollamudi Nagamukesh, Kanchapogu Srinivas, Rayala Ajay Kumar, Rayala Gopi, Palla Ganesh, Rayala Gopichand, Kandukuri Jagadish of Lingapalem village and Tatikonda Raju of Karimnagar were also arrested.

Several individuals and accounts that assisted the accused by providing them with bank accounts are also being identified. The field investigation is ongoing, no accused person would be spared and legal action would be taken against them, the CP noted. He advised the youth to be vigilant against cybercriminals and not to fall into traps due to greed.