Police have arrested a four-member gang suspected of involvement in widespread online investment fraud. Authorities identified approximately 20 mule accounts linked to this group, which is implicated in 54 cases nationwide, with fraudulent transactions estimated at ₹10 crore.
The arrests followed an investigation into an online investment scam where a woman lost ₹37.4 lakh. She was enticed to invest in trading platforms promoted through WhatsApp messages.
According to police, the primary accused, Panduraju Abhishek, 26, an interior designer, connected with a Chinese national via WhatsApp during a period of financial difficulty. The Chinese national offered Abhishek commissions for arranging mule bank accounts and SIM cards to facilitate the transfer of funds obtained through cyber fraud.
Abhishek then recruited three individuals—Maroju Subrahmanya Chari alias Bannu, 25, Gedela Nani, 28, and Alamanda Manikantha, 20—to acquire the necessary bank accounts and SIM cards, offering ₹10,000 for each account.
Police confirmed that the gang's activities are connected to fraudulent transactions totaling around ₹10 crore across 54 cases throughout the country. The investigation into this network is ongoing.