The cybercrime wing of the Avadi Central Crime Branch (CCB) has arrested two individuals involved in defrauding a civil engineer from Mangadu, Chennai, of Rs 1.56 crore in an online trading scam. The accused, Ajith Kumar (29) from Sivagangai and P Prakash (41) from Puducherry, are accused of providing their bank accounts for fraudulent transactions and transferring the ill-gotten money abroad.
According to police reports, the victim, Jayaraman (55), a civil engineer, received a WhatsApp advertisement in June 2024 promoting online trading with promises of assured 100% returns. After responding to the message, he was added to a group where members shared their alleged profitable experiences. Following the advice of some group members, Jayaraman began investing small amounts, ultimately committing Rs 1.56 crore in total by July 2024.
The scam began to unravel when Jayaraman realized he was unable to transfer his displayed profits to his own bank account. In September, he filed a complaint, leading to a police investigation. The investigation traced the funds to a fake company registered in Puducherry under Ajith Kumar, a Class X dropout who worked at an eatery in Chennai. Kumar received the victim’s funds, which were later transferred to Prakash, a BA graduate, who moved the money abroad.
Ajith Kumar and Prakash are alleged to have been recruited by a cybercrime gang to manage the operation. Kumar earned a commission of Rs 1.5 lakh, while Prakash received Rs 1.1 lakh for facilitating the money transfer abroad. A separate group was reportedly set up to communicate with victims of the scam.
The investigation is ongoing, with authorities trying to uncover how the funds were converted and sent abroad and to identify other individuals involved in the scam.
