CHENNAI: The Cyber Crime Police Station of the Central Crime Branch, Greater Chennai Police, arrested two individuals linked to a major online trading investment scam that defrauded a complainant of Rs 90 lakh.

The arrests follow a detailed inquiry into a complaint filed by Dr G Moorthy, who alleged he was duped by a fake trading platform.

The case was registered under Sections 316 (2) and 318 (4) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and Section 66D of the IT Act, 2000. Moorthy reported investing Rs 90.77 lakh in a trading platform, lured by promises of high returns. The funds were transferred to multiple mule bank accounts controlled by the scammers.

Investigators traced the money trail and identified the accused as TP Arun Kumar, 33, from Salem and K Kannan, 41, from East Tambaram, Chennai. Police revealed that the duo allegedly converted the illicit funds into cryptocurrency (USDT) via peer-to-peer (P2P) transactions on the Binance platform, earning a 25% cut for their role in laundering the money.

Both accused were produced before the XI Metropolitan Magistrate Court and remanded.

Authorities highlighted that such scams typically target victims through social media ads. Fraudsters promote fake trading apps or websites, urging users to open demat accounts with promises of exceptional profits.