A 35-year-old event manager from Bengaluru, Sunil Kumar Maasthi Rathnappa, was apprehended by the Telangana Cyber Security Bureau on Wednesday for allegedly defrauding a realtor from Nalgonda of Rs7.19 crore.
According to officials, Rathnappa and his accomplices tricked the victim into transferring funds to 80 different accounts through 280 transactions between August 2023 and April 2024. They falsely claimed that these transfers were necessary to release “international remittances sent as donations,” which they alleged had been seized by customs at Hyderabad’s international airport.
The accused promised the victim a 30% commission on the remittance once it was released, leading the complainant, who works in real estate, to transfer Rs38.5 lakh to Rathnappa’s account.
The victim was introduced to one of the suspects, Rathod, by his business partner Giri. Rathod and his associates persuaded the complainant to pay various fees, including transaction advance taxes. To further deceive him, they presented a forged letter from the Ministry of Textiles, which purportedly appointed Rathod as chairman of the National Jute Board, claiming his influence could facilitate the release of the funds.
Over nine months, they managed to extract Rs7.19 crore from the victim. Authorities have seized a mobile phone and an ATM card from Rathnappa, while the other suspects remain at large. The accused also communicated with the victim using fake documents supposedly issued by foreign banks and international agencies to build trust.
