Kochi police to seek custody of two arrested in 25 crore trading scam

Kochi: City police to seek custody of two people who were arrested in a Rs 25-crore trading scam in Hyderabad.The case pertains to an Ernakulam-based businessman being defrauded of approximately Rs 25 crore through the website Capitallx.com in the name of trading. Hyderabad residents Allamraju Satyanarayana Murthy, 36, and Banka Tyson Raju, 34, were arrested by Kochi cyber police. According to police, the accused misappropriated Rs 16 crore connected to the scam. The fraud was carried out by luring the victim to invest money for trading through the Cyprus-based website Capitallx. Cases were registered against the website Capitallx in various states across the country, police said. Under the direction of Kochi city commissioner Kaliraj Maharaj, a special investigation team was formed to investigate the case, which recorded one of the highest amounts lost by an individual in the country through cyberfraud. Following the investigation, which revealed the involvement of the accused's institution operating out of Hyderabad in the misappropriation of around Rs 16 crore, the cyber police team obtained an arrest warrant from the court and reached Hyderabad. The accused, who were leading a luxurious life, were located and arrested. Previously, five suspects were arrested in this case. Murthy owns an IT company named Aasrita Mega Infotech and a construction company named Aasritha Infratech Pvt Ltd. Additionally, the construction of 300 villas under the name Aero Villas is under way. According to police, preliminary investigation reveals that the accused, who started as an employee in an IT company, rose to become the owner of various companies in a short period through money obtained from cyberfraud. It is expected that further crucial evidence will be obtained in this case through the questioning of the accused in custody, police said.