The Hyderabad Cyber Crime Police has arrested a 28-year-old man from Kadiri in Anantapur district of Andhra Pradesh for his alleged involvement in an online investment and trading scam. The accused was taken into judicial custody after his arrest in Tirupati.
According to an officer of the Cyber Crimes Department, Kandukuru Sulthan Ahmad Khan was arrested after a resident of Kalyan Nagar filed a complaint stating that on the night of August 21, he received a WhatsApp message from a group called “Navuma 915 Insights Stocks” encouraging him to invest in an app called “Nuvama High Yield”.
“Convinced by the group’s claims, the victim transferred ₹24,71,000 through UPI and bank transfers. The app later showed a balance of ₹40.60 lakh, but when he tried to withdraw the funds, access was denied and he was asked to pay another ₹23,000,” the officer said.
Investigation revealed that the fraudulent transactions were conducted through a bank account held in the name of “Sultan Imports & Exports” with Karur Vysya Bank. Police identified the account holder as Khan, who supplied fake bank accounts for commission through a Telegram group. He told investigators that a Telegram user, ‘P@anda_566_66’, recruited him to provide bank accounts to launder the proceeds of the fraud in exchange for kickbacks.
On 20 September 2025, Khan met three individuals, Teja, Ajay and Prabu, at the Kachiguda railway station where he handed over his chequebook, ATM card and SIM card. A few days later, $2,100 in cryptocurrency (USDT) was transferred to his Binance wallet, which he converted to Indian Rupees and deposited ₹2,00,000 into his DBS Bank account. Police said Khan also provided several other bank accounts, including one with Karnataka Bank, receiving a 20% commission on each.
In just three days, the accused and his associates allegedly cheated the victims of nearly ₹3 crore. Investigations further revealed his involvement in at least 15 cyber fraud cases across India, eight each in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh and others in Gurugram, Thane, Lucknow, Delhi, Bengaluru, Udupi, Kancheepuram, Thanjavur and Ranchi.
Published – 19 Oct 2025 21:38 IST
