A Crime Branch (CB) team investigating the online fraud that led to a doctor couple from Cherthala in Alappuzha losing ₹7.65 crore last year has taken two Taiwanese into custody in connection with the case.
The accused have been identified as Wang Chun-Wei alias Sumoka (26) and Shen Wei-Haw alias Krish (35), both from Taoyuan in Taiwan.
The duo had earlier been arrested by the Ahmedabad police for their involvement in a similar online fraud. The District Crime Branch, which obtained their custody brought them to Alappuzha on Tuesday. “They will be produced before a local court on Wednesday and their arrest will be recorded afterwards,” said an official.
Last year, investigators arrested five people, including Bhagawan Das from Karnataka and Nirmal Jain from Rajasthan, in connection with the case. “The Taiwanese are among the kingpins of the online fraud. They coordinated the scam across multiple locations in the country,” the official added.
According to officials, the doctor couple fell victim to an online share trading investment scam. The perpetrators, pretending to work for Invesco Capital and Goldman Sachs, lured the victims with promises of high returns.
Once the couple transferred money, the fraudsters sent them a fake statement claiming their internal equity account had a balance of ₹39,72,85,929, including investment returns. They then urged the victims to increase their investment to ₹15 crore. However, when the couple refused, the fraudsters informed them that their internal equity account had been frozen.
To withdraw the investment, the preparators demanded an additional ₹2 crore and threatened to initiate legal action against them. This prompted the couple to file a police complaint, leading to the ongoing investigation.
The case was initially investigated by the Cherthala police before being handed over to the CB. A team led by circle inspector P.K. Mohith brought the duo to Alappuzha from Gujarat.
Published – February 18, 2025 09:02 pm IST
