Rs 62.26 lakh investment fraud: Two held in Hyderabad for conning Chennai elderly man

CHENNAI: Greater Chennai Police's cyber crime wing has arrested two persons in Hyderabad for conning a 69-year-old resident of Chennai of Rs 62.26 lakh through a fake UK-based investment firm.

According to police, the victim was contacted on WhatsApp by persons claiming to be representatives of a UK firm, Steadyedge Capital, promising high returns on investments. Believing them, he paid Rs 1 lakh on February 4, 2025. After which, the fraudsters sent him fake account statements showing his investment growing.

Every time he tried to withdraw the profit, they demanded an advance payment to release the money. Between February 2025 and October 2025, the elderly man made 21 transactions totalling Rs 62.26 lakh to 17 different bank accounts.

After realising he was conned, he filed a complaint on the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal. A case was registered at the Cyber Crime Police Station of Chennai Central Crime Branch (CCB).

Investigation revealed that over Rs 14 lakh had gone to the accounts of Mohammed Tariq Ali (50) and his friend Manish Kumar (45) of Doodh Bowli, Hyderabad. The police investigation revealed that Tariq Ali's account had received Rs 1.48 crore in three months and Manish's Rs 63.72 lakh in three weeks from victims across India.

The police said Tariq Ali converted fraud money into cryptocurrency via Binance and sent it to the scam gang after taking a 20 per cent commission. The probe also found that after his account was frozen, he had opened accounts in his friend's name to continue the fraud. Last week, a special team went to Hyderabad and arrested both men.