MADURAI: The Economic Offences Wing police on Monday arrested two key accused, Ranjith (29) and his wife Priyadarshini (23), from the Kattayampatti area in connection with the FQL online investment fraud case, in which thousands of people from Madurai and neighbouring districts were allegedly cheated of crores of rupees.

The couple surrendered before the Dindigul JM-2 Court in connection with a case registered by the Crime Branch-CID in Dindigul. Following their surrender, the Dindigul police secured them and handed them over to the Madurai EOW.

The accused allegedly cheated rural women by operating an investment scheme that promised to double their money in 45 days and offered returns in US dollars. The scheme was operated through an application called FQL Exchange (fqlin.com), which the accused allegedly helped the investors download on their mobile phones.

The first complaints in the case were filed with the Melur police by people who claimed to have been cheated in the scheme. Subsequently, thousands of people came forward to lodge complaints. Following this, Director General of Police Mahesh Kumar Aggarwal transferred the case to the EOW for investigation.