MADURAI: Thousands of people who allegedly lost money to a mobile app-based investment scheme staged a road blockade on the national highway near Melur on Friday evening, demanding the recovery of their money and action against those behind the alleged fraud.
Earlier in the day, nearly 5000 people, mostly rural women, gathered at a marriage hall in Melur town near Madurai to lodge complaints with the police. They had invested in the scheme, which promised to double their money in 45 days and offered returns in US dollars. Some victims described the fraud similar to the plot of the Tamil film ‘Sathurangam’.
The police suspect that people could lose more than Rs 100 crore in the alleged scam that spans the lengths of Madurai and neighbouring Sivaganga district.
The scam, which largely targeted rural women, allegedly operated through agents in several areas, including Kattayampatti, Kottanathampatti, A. Vallalapatti, Ayyapatti and Melavalam, in Melur taluk.
“As the agents spoke the local slang, they could easily win the trust of the people,” said a police source.
They convinced people if they invested Rs 50,000, it could be doubled in 45 days through an application called FQL Exchange (fqlin.com), which they helped download on their mobile phones.
“The agents helped us download the application and asked us to invest Rs 50,000. The amount was then credited to our account as $500, with a daily bonus between $3 and $5,” said one of the complainants.
“If we added two persons to the scheme, we would receive a daily bonus of up to $6 or $7, which is nearly Rs 700,” said another complainant.
When many people initially received returns on their investments, the scheme attracted more villagers through word-of-mouth recommendations.
“I held off on the invitation to join the scheme for a few months, but gave in eventually, pledged my jewellery and invested in the scheme, only to be cheated,” said Kamaladevi, from a village near Melur.
“Many women pledged their jewellery or borrowed money at high interest rates and invested in the app. We wanted to make quick money,” she added.
According to the police, some villagers even stopped going to work after they started receiving payments on their investments and bonuses amounting to Rs 1,000 a day.
“Once they won the confidence of the people, the agents introduced a Rs 1 lakh scheme, and it attracted thousands of people,” said the police. People did not just stop at Rs 1 lakh, some invested between Rs 3 lakh and Rs 5 lakh, hoping to earn huge returns in a short period. However, the application was suddenly disabled about a month ago, triggering panic among the investors, the police added.
During their inquiry, the police found that two accused, Ranjith and Arun of Kattayampatti near Melur, were introduced to the mobile investment application while working in Saudi Arabia.
“After returning to Melur, they ran the fraudulent business with the help of a person from Saudi Arabia,” said the police, adding that seven computers had been seized from their house.
The duo first suspended the application service last month, citing network problems. “Later, they claimed that all the customer data had been lost and demanded the investors to pay $200 to recover their money,” said the police.
“They sensed trouble when people started raising uncomfortable questions, and shut down the whole service on Thursday and went underground,” the police said, adding that a lookout notice has been issued for the duo.
The police are now planning to refer the case to the Economic Offences Wing for a detailed investigation.
A team comprising personnel from the Madurai District Superintendent of Police Devanathan's special branch and the Melur Deputy Superintendent of Police are conducting a detailed inquiry into the alleged fraud.