Chennai: The Cybercrime Wing of Greater Chennai Police has apprehended three individuals from Kerala linked to a sophisticated online investment scam that defrauded a retired Indian Forest Service (IFS) officer of ₹6.8 crore.

The victim, Krishnan Kumar Kaushal, aged 60, hails from Himachal Pradesh and retired as the Tamil Nadu Principal Chief Conservator of Forests in July 2024.

In a complaint lodged two months ago, he revealed that he lost his entire life savings, retirement funds, and proceeds from selling his home after falling victim to fraudulent investment applications.

The suspects have been identified as Sreejith R. Nair (47) from Ernakulam, Abdulsalu (47) from Kozhikode, and Mohammed Farwaiz (44) from Malappuram. They were transported to Chennai under a transit warrant and placed in judicial custody.

According to police reports, Krishnan Kumar received WhatsApp messages in December 2024, which led him to download two fraudulent investment applications—SMC Apex and Shanda Capital. These apps were marketed by fake customer service representatives who promised substantial returns.

Between January and late January 2025, he transferred around ₹6.58 crore to various bank accounts associated with the scammers, believing he was investing in legitimate stock market opportunities. However, he grew suspicious when he noticed inconsistencies.

He stated, “The value of shares displayed in the app increased daily, but when I checked against official stock exchange data (NSE and BSE), the numbers didn’t align.”

Realizing he had been scammed, Kaushal contacted the national cybercrime helpline (1930) and filed a report with the Cybercrime Wing of Chennai Police.

A specialized team led by Inspector Peer Basha traced the fraudulent bank accounts back to Kerala.

The investigation uncovered that the arrested individuals were managing bank accounts for cyber fraudsters. The stolen funds were funneled abroad through illegal hawala networks and subsequently converted into USDT cryptocurrency using the Binance trading platform.

Authorities noted that five other suspects from Delhi and nearby areas had been arrested earlier in connection with this case. However, the three individuals from Kerala were pivotal in laundering the money through cryptocurrency transactions.

A senior police official remarked, “The suspects are believed to be involved in similar scams reported in other regions of Tamil Nadu and various states.”