Chennai: Elderly homemaker, bank staff among trio arrested for providing bank accounts to cyber fraudsters

CHENNAI: The Avadi City Police have arrested three persons, including a bank staff and a homemaker, who lent their bank accounts to cyber scamsters for a commission. One of them, an MBA graduate working with a private bank, opened accounts and lent it to fraudsters, police said.

The cybercrime wing of the Avadi police began a probe into the complaint by Jagir Hussain (42), a resident of Paruthipattu, who lost Rs 28 lakh to fraudsters after investing money in fake stock trading websites.

He was lured by advertisements on social media, promising exponential returns on his investment. He joined a WhatsApp group and transferred the money as instructed by the fraudsters.

He realised he was conned after he found out that he could not withdraw either his investment or the profits. Following this, he filed a complaint with the Avadi city police.

Digital trail of the bank transfers led police to the three accused - Babu Balakrishnan (46), Vijaya (62) and Prasad Kumar (33). Prasad Kumar, an MBA graduate, was employed at RBL Bank and had opened bank accounts and lent them to cyber fraudsters for a commission, police said. Babu is a B Pharm graduate and runs a business, while Vijaya was a housewife, police said.

All three of them were produced before a magistrate and remanded to judicial custody.