A Mumbai-based man was arrested on Wednesday for running an online trading scam with direct links to a Chinese national and cheating a Hyderabad investor of Rs 32 lakh.
21-year-old Ansari Mohammed Umar Murad, alias Umar, posed as part of a fake investment network that used the name of the Aditya Birla Group to lure victims through social media ads. The fraud was operated through WhatsApp groups, fake trading apps and websites promising high returns on stocks and IPOs.
The Cyber Crime Police of Hyderabad said the investor was added to WhatsApp groups run by fake "trade advisors" and shown false profits on a bogus app.
"Umar had direct contact with a Chinese national via Telegram. On his instructions, the cheated money was converted into USDT (a cryptocurrency) and transferred to crypto wallets provided by the Chinese handler. Around Rs 50 lakh was routed this way using crypto dealers and wallets," police said.
Earlier, two other accused, Rishi Thushar Arothe of Gujarat and Inamdar Vinayaka Rajendar, were arrested in the same case.
The gang is involved in 12 cyber fraud cases across eight states, including Telangana, Maharashtra, Karnataka and Kerala, police said.
Mobile phones and a laptop have been seized, which contained Telegram chats and crypto transaction details linked to the Chinese national. Bank accounts were arranged on a commission basis to move the fraudulent funds.
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