Banker among two arrested for 59 lakh online trading fraud

Chennai: Avadi cybercrime police arrested two men, including the manager of a private bank, for facilitating an online trading fraud in which a man from Thiruverkadu was cheated of 59 lakh. The complainant, S Karthikeyan, 38, was lured through a WhatsApp message earlier this year. He transferred money between Jan and April to bank accounts provided by persons who claimed to offer online trading services. Police said he initially received returns for a few days, which led him to invest larger amounts. When the returns stopped, and the contact numbers became unreachable, he filed a complaint with the cybercrime wing at Avadi commissionerate.Police traced the money trail and identified two suspects — Vijaya Karthik, 26, from Tiruvallur district, and Monishraj, 26, a manager with a private bank from Tiruvannamalai district. Police said the accused procured bank accounts from individuals for a commission and shared the account details with fraud networks involved in transferring and withdrawing money from those duped. They also received a share of the proceeds. The cybercrime team arrested both the accused and seized two cellphones used in the operation. They were produced before a magistrate court and remanded in judicial custody.