Four held in ₹3 crore trade investment scam in Hyderabad
The accused were identified as Srinivas Manubothula (45), Syed Yousuf (45), Chekka Yeshaya alias Shekar (54) and Mohammed Jaber Ahmed (42). One of them was a bank account holder, while the other three acted as agents in facilitating the fraud.
The case was booked following a complaint on June 28 by a resident of North Lallaguda, who alleged that he was added to a WhatsApp group called 'SMC Global Securities', purportedly run by a woman named Anu Prita Daga and Ajay Garg, presented as the CEO of SMC Global Securities Ltd, New Delhi.
The complainant was lured into joining an investment scheme through a web link sent by Daga. Claiming that SEBI-approved cash management accounts were used, she promised that funds transferred by investors would be securely credited and could be withdrawn at any time.
Encouraged to invest in an IPO for a fictitious firm named 'Influx Health Tech Ltd', the victim was told that he had been allocated shares worth ₹49 crore. After he protested, stating he did not authorise such an amount, the fraudsters negotiated a revised payment of ₹3 crore. The funds were transferred to 16 bank accounts provided by Daga, including one in Kerala where ₹77 lakh was deposited.
Investigations revealed that ₹8 lakh from the Kerala account was later transferred to the bank account of Srinivas Manubothula, a software consultant. Manubothula, who ran a drone software firm under the name 'Drones Spray', had opened a current account with Axis Bank. Facing financial distress, he agreed to provide this account for use in cyber frauds, for a commission.
His associates, including Jaber Ahmed and Syed Yousuf, facilitated the scam by transporting the SIM card linked to the bank account to Mumbai, where other fraudsters managed the transfers. Manubothula received ₹2 lakh for allowing the use of his account, which saw a total inflow of ₹4.3 crore, later redistributed to various accounts via net banking.
The police said that as many as 46 NCRP (National Cybercrime Reporting Portal) complaints have been filed against the same bank account from across India.
The TGCSB has issued a public advisory warning citizens not to provide their bank accounts for use by others under any circumstance. It also urged people to stay vigilant against fraudulent investment schemes and to report any suspicious activity via the 1930 helpline or cybercrime.gov.in.
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