Coimbatore’s cybercrime police have arrested Velmurugan, 30, from Nallur, Tirupur, and Abbas, 41, from Mahalingapuram, Pollachi, for their involvement in a Rs17-crore international online fraud. The scam is linked to criminal gangs operating out of Cambodia and Saudi Arabia.
The investigation began after Karthikeyan, an IT employee from Saravanampatti, Coimbatore, filed a complaint with the police. According to Karthikeyan, he had received a message on his mobile phone offering high returns for online investments. Initially lured by the promise of quick profits, Karthikeyan invested in the scheme. However, when no returns were forthcoming, he demanded a refund. The fraudsters, however, went incommunicado, prompting Karthikeyan to seek police help.
The Coimbatore cybercrime police then registered a case and launched an investigation into the online fraud. Police traced the illicit transactions and found that the money defrauded from Karthikeyan, along with other victims, was transferred to the bank accounts of Velmurugan and Abbas. The investigation revealed that these two men had collaborated with international criminal gangs based in Cambodia and Saudi Arabia to facilitate the fraud by providing their bank accounts for the transactions.
In total, Rs7 crore was transferred into Velmurugan’s account, while Abbas had ₹10 crore routed through his account. Shockingly, both Velmurugan and Abbas have extensive criminal records. Velmurugan has been implicated in 91 criminal cases, while Abbas has 89 cases against him, according to the police.
The duo is believed to have acted as intermediaries for the international gang, helping to launder the defrauded money. Police are continuing their investigation to identify the gang members operating in Cambodia and Saudi Arabia and are working on recovering the stolen funds.