Largest amount lost in India: Kochi based pharmaceutical company owner loses Rs 26 crore through online investment fraud

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: A pharmaceutical company owner from Kochi lost Rs 26 crore through online investment fraud. The amount was lost in several installments since May 2023. This is the largest amount lost by a person in India in online investment fraud. Around Rs 25 crore has been lost by many people in Maharashtra and Mangaluru through cyber fraud. The cyber police recovered around Rs 15 lakh that the company owner lost last month.

The money was embezzled by establishing a connection with a businessman who is actively involved in the stock market through Telegram. The fraudsters promised that the businessman could buy shares of companies with high market value for a small amount and get a huge profit. The fraud gang, which had accepted a deposit of two crores, showed a profit of around four crores. With this, more money was sent to various accounts as per the gang's instructions. Each time the deposit was made, the profit was shown to be double. It was only when the owner of the pharmaceutical company tried to sell the shares that it was realized that it was a fake app. A complaint was then filed.

Since the amount is huge, the case will be handed over to the Crime Branch's Financial Crimes Investigation Division. The investigation will involve cyber experts.

One crore loss in the capital

A complaint has been filed that two people in Thiruvananthapuram were duped of about one crore rupees. A woman from Karamana was duped of about 73.07 lakh rupees by promising huge profits.

The woman had been depositing money in various accounts since June. The complainant had opened the link to the advertisement that came through WhatsApp. The fraud was committed by repeatedly contacting the complainant by phone, adding her to a Telegram group, and encouraging her to download the mobile application and website.

A 67-year-old man from Pettah was extorted Rs 34.26 lakh through a virtual arrest scam. The scam started with a phone call from a person who introduced himself as a CBI officer. He threatened to arrest the 67-year-old virtually and said that he was an accused in a money laundering case. The scammer asked for his bank account details and savings. He said that he should check to see if the money was legal or else a case would be filed, and if it was legal, the money would be returned. The senior citizen sent the money, fearing that he would be made an accused in the case. The cyber police took up the case and started an investigation.