Bengaluru: Businessman loses Rs 1.5 crore to online investment scam

Bengaluru: The Cyber Crime police have arrested eight individuals, including the manager of a private bank and several account holders, for defrauding a businessman of Rs 1.5 crore through a WhatsApp investment scam.

The arrested individuals include Kishore Sahu (32), the manager of Axis Bank in Nagarbhavi, Sales Manager Manohar (32), executives Karthik (30) and Rakesh (30), and Lakshmikant (40), Raghuraju (32), Kengegowda (33), and Mala (32), all from Chikkamagaluru. The police have recovered Rs 28 lakh in cash from the accused.

However, the mastermind of the operation and nine others are still absconding, and police are conducting a search for them, informed Police Commissioner B. Dayanand.

Police said, Manohar, originally from Chikkamagaluru, was aided by his childhood friend, who currently resides in Dubai. Following his instructions, Manohar, along with others, obtained Aadhaar cards and other identity documents and opened multiple accounts at the bank where he worked.

These accounts were used to receive funds from cyber fraud activities carried out across India, with the account holders receiving a commission for the transactions. The bank officials involved also received a share of the profits, the police added.

How the fraud unfolded

The complainant, a resident of Yelahanka, was convinced to invest in a VIP stock trading scheme after receiving messages via WhatsApp from foreign individuals promising to double his investment. Initially, the businessman invested Rs 50,000 and was told his money had doubled. Over time, from March to June, he invested a total of Rs 1.5 crore. When he received a message claiming that his stocks had grown to Rs 28 crore but that he needed to pay Rs 75 lakh to access the amount, he became suspicious and reported the matter to the Cyber Crime police.

254 cases and Rs 97 crore transactions uncovered

Police Commissioner B. Dayanand said that investigations revealed the same fraudsters were involved in 254 cases registered on the NCR portal, with Rs 97 crore in transactions traced to the same bank accounts.

According to police, the Axis Bank branch in Nagarbhavi had failed to properly verify the identity of the account holders. Further technical investigation revealed that the bank officials were complicit in the fraud. The manager, Kishore Sahu, and sales executives were arrested, and the full extent of the scam was exposed.

Efforts are underway to locate the remaining suspects, he added.