Police arrest three men for defrauding Rs 100 crore in investment scam

Kochi: Kalamassery police on Sunday arrested the owners of a private establishment named ATCOS for allegedly defrauding over Rs 100 crore from various persons. According to the statement, the accused promised returns for investing in agricultural tourism sector and collected investments from hundreds of people.The arrested persons are Muraleedharan, Ashik Murali and Akhil Murali, all residents of Thrissur. According to police, the company, registered under Multi-State Cooperative Society Act, operated 13 branches across various districts in the state and one in Coimbatore. When investors did not receive their money back, they approached the company, but neither the money nor the promised profits were returned. Consequently, 54 cases were registered against the institution across 32 police stations, with 29 cases registered at Kalamassery police station. The complainants alleged that the accused infiltrated a WhatsApp group created by the victims, allowing them to pre-emptively understand the cases against them, and secured court orders preventing arrest. After the court vacated the said order, the accused went into hiding. A special investigation team was then formed under the instructions of Kochi city police commissioner Kaliraj Mahesh Kumar. The accused were arrested from an apartment in Amala Nagar, Thrissur, where they were hiding, after secretly renting the apartment using a new SIM card obtained by an employee from Tamil Nadu, said an officer. Police said that despite multiple searches in various locations, the accused evaded capture. Their bank accounts were frozen, and steps were being taken to locate their assets. The police added that they seized crucial documents from the institution's office in Pathadipalam. The accused were presented before Judicial first class magistrate and were remanded. The police would conduct a detailed investigation after taking them back into custody, said an officer.