Man duped of Rs 59 lakh in WhatsApp trading scam; 2 arrested by Avadi cyber crime police

CHENNAI: Police arrested two persons, including a private bank manager, for facilitating an online trading fraud in which a man from Thiruverkadu lost Rs 59 lakh after being lured through a WhatsApp message earlier this year.

The victim, identified as S Karthikeyan, transferred the money to bank accounts belonging to individuals who claimed to facilitate trading through the messaging platform. After several months passed with no returns, Karthikeyan realized he had been cheated and filed a complaint with the Avadi Commissioner’s Office Cyber Crime Wing.

Based on his complaint, a case was registered and an investigation was launched. Cyber crime officials uncovered that two individuals — Ezhiri Vijayakarthick (26) of Thiruvallur, and Monishraj (26), a Kotak Mahindra Bank manager from Tiruvannamalai district — had been procuring bank accounts from the public for a commission and providing them to fraudsters involved in money laundering.

The two suspects were arrested and police seized two mobile phones used in the cheating operation. Both were later remanded to judicial custody.