Cryptocurrency fraud: Complaint filed about Rs 3 crore scam

Mangaluru: A resident of Borugudde Kannur has lodged a police complaint alleging that he has been cheated of Rs 3 crores in cryptocurrency fraud.

The complainant has accused Mohammed Shafad CK and Mohammed Afid C K of scamming in the guise of high returns for cryptocurrency investments.

According to the complaint, in January 2020, Mohammed Shafad had told the complainant about his success investing in cryptocurrencies and was looking for investors. Shafad had promised a return of the yearly return of 25 percent for investing in cryptocurrencies.

A couple of weeks later, Shafad and his cousin Afid visited the complainant’s house and reportedly received Rs 35 lakhs in cash from the complainant. After a month, the duo sent a message of the dividend of Rs 8.75 lakhs earned in the crypto investment to the complainant via WhatsApp but added that the payment was delayed by a couple of months due to the Covid pandemic.

The complainant said that he had further invested Rs 7 lakhs through the account of one named Jasmin Hamsa suggested by the accused.

The complainant also said that he had invested a total of Rs 3 crore collected from his friends into the scheme. However, the accused could not be contacted thereafter.

The complainant said he recently came to know that Shafad and Afid were named accused in a cryptocurrency fraud through a trading app called N-ME INNOVATIONS LLP in Bengaluru in 2022.