Cybercrime police arrest key accused in ₹50 lakh online trading fraud

A 33-year-old man was arrested by the cyber crimes wing of the Hyderabad police for his role in a large-scale online trading fraud in which a city-based victim was cheated of nearly ₹49.9 lakh through fake investment scheme circulated on WhatsApp.

The accused was identified as Mohammed Ashfaq, a resident of Hyderabad, who runs a general store. Police said that Ashfaq allowed his bank account to be used by cyber fraudsters on commission basis, facilitating the movement of crores of rupees linked to online stock market scams across the country.

The case came to light after a Hyderabad resident lodged a complaint stating that he was contacted on WhatsApp by a woman identifying herself as Meena Bhat, who claimed to represent an “86 DBS India Wealth Group Investment”. He was added to a WhatsApp group of the same name and was asked to invest through an internal trading portal link shared within the group.

According to the complaint, the victim initially deposited ₹2 lakh, and was shown profits on the portal. He was even allowed to withdraw a small amount, which helped build confidence. Encouraged by promises of higher returns, he was persuaded to deposit larger sums into various bank accounts provided by the group. The fraudsters later claimed that his funds were allocated towards an IPO and showed investments exceeding the amount he had deposited, asking him to pay additional money to close the IPO subscription.

When the victim refused to invest further, he was blocked from the WhatsApp group and removed from the contact list. Realising he had been cheated, he approached the cybercrime helpline 1930 . In total, he transferred ₹49.9 lakh to the accounts linked to the fraud.

Based on the complaint, police registered a case under Sections 66C and 66D of the Information Technology Act and relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita. Investigation revealed that Ashfaq had knowingly provided his bank account to cyber fraudsters and had even travelled to New Delhi, where the account was used in his presence for online stock market-related frauds. Police said around ₹3.7 crore was routed through this account, with the money later diverted through internet banking using OTPs collected from Ashfaq.

Officials said that the same bank account has been linked to 29 cybercrime cases across India, including 12 in Telangana, four in Karnataka, three in Maharashtra, two each in Gujarat and Odisha, and single cases in Assam, Haryana, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal. In Telangana alone, the accused is linked to multiple cases registered in Hyderabad City and Cyberabad.