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The Kochi City Police has formed a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to investigate a Kochi resident’s complaint of losing Rs 24.76 crore in digital fraud via the online trading platform Capitalix. According to reports, several people across Kerala have fallen victim to financial fraud of various kinds, including online trading and virtual arrests.
Capitalix is a bogus online trading platform registered in California. Although registered in California, the racket is believed to operate from Cyprus. The first case was reported by the Kochi resident on September 1. It is estimated that victims have cumulatively lost Rs 28 crores.
The Kochi resident, a 49-year-old pharmaceutical company owner, deposited money into different accounts in instalments since March 2023 on Capitalix. The accused, reportedly a Malayalam-speaking man, used to contact the resident via phone and chats on Telegram. The complainant was made to engage on the website after being promised high returns.
The complainant realised that he was being scammed when he was unable to withdraw the returns on the investments. Similar victims who were allegedly duped by the same racket also lost money, ranging from Rs 40 lakh to Rs 1.5 crore.
“This is a case of financial fraud, and our investigation is ongoing. We are still collecting data from the statements given by people”, said an officer from the Ernakulam Cyber Police Station.
Another victim is a 59-year-old woman from Kochi’s Mattanchery, who reportedly lost Rs 2.88 crore via a ‘virtual arrest’ fraud, reportedly operated by the same racket. A virtual arrest is when the victim is made to believe that they are being arrested on a video call by individuals posing as police officials. They are coerced into paying a ‘fine’ to be released.
People from Kerala are also suspected to be part of this racket, hired to lure more people into the scam. The police have traced 23 accounts and frozen Rs 14 lakh so far. Several people stopped contributing money to the scam after being alerted by the police. The banks through which these transactions happened have also been given a notice, reports said.