By The Hindu Bureau
Copyright thehindu
The police team probing the cyber fraud in which a Kochi-based pharmaceutical businessman was allegedly duped of ₹24.76 crore has arrested a woman in connection with the incident.
Sujitha. G., a native of Kollam, was arrested by the Kochi Cyber police on Tuesday for allegedly helping fraudsters launder the money they illegally obtained from the complainant promising higher returns from online stock trading.
This is the first arrest in the scam, said to be one of the largest cyber frauds reported in the State in terms of the volume of the money involved. The woman had been staying in Aluva of late, a police source said.
The police zeroed in on the woman after examining the bank accounts allegedly used for the transactions. The complainant lost the money in around 90 transactions through over 20 bank accounts. One of the accounts was opened at the Palarivattom branch of a leading bank in the name of Sujitha. During the investigation, the police found that the money deposited in the account was transferred abroad with the help of the woman, and she used to get a commission for the illegal act, the police said. The woman has been remanded.
The alleged fraud occurred over two years, between March 2023 and August 2025. The police registered a first information report (FIR) on September 1, 2025 on a complaint filed by the victim, who is into pharmaceutical business.
According to the FIR, the accused contacted the victim over phone and chat and convinced him to engage in stock trading through a website promising high returns. The victim reportedly continued investing as high returns appeared in his account on the website. However, he realised he had been duped when he could not withdraw either the ‘returns’ or his original investments. The FIR was registered under Sections 418(4) (cheating) and 406(2) (criminal breach of trust) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.
