NT Reporter
Panaji
Goa Cyber Crime Police have arrested Mohammad Rafeez (33) from Karnataka in connection with an online trading fraud in which a woman from Margao allegedly lost Rs 33.75 lakh.
Police said the accused had received Rs 8 lakh in his bank account. A portion of the amount was withdrawn through cash and cheque transactions, while the remaining funds were routed to multiple accounts belonging to his associates.
“Further analysis uncovered that this account was linked to two other cyber fraud cases across Tamil Nadu and Goa, with a cumulative fraud amount of Rs 33 lakh,” said Raju Raut Desai, Superintendent of Police, Cyber Crime.
Police said the case was registered in March. Before March 24, the accused, operating through a WhatsApp number along with others acting with a common intention, allegedly contacted the complainant while posing as representatives of ‘Social Venture Capitalist AI Trading’.
The accused allegedly lured the complainant by promising high returns on investments and trades. Police said the complainant subsequently registered on the ‘Social Venture Capitalist AI Trading’ platform and began investing.
“Subsequently, they started assisting her in trading activities, which falsely promised high returns. Under the false pretext of high returns, the complainant was induced to transfer a total amount of Rs 33.75 lakh through multiple transactions into different accounts,” said Desai. H
e said that following an in-depth technical investigation, Rafeez was traced to Bengaluru, Karnataka. The accused is being produced before the court to seek police custody.
PI Deepak Pednekar is conducting further investigations.
