One held in an alleged cyber fraud case in Kozhikode
The Kozhikode City Cyber Police has arrested a 27-year-old man in connection with an alleged ₹50 crore cyber fraud in which fraudsters impersonated the CEO of a private company and tricked its accountant into transferring funds through RTGS (Real Time Gross Settlement).
The accused, identified as Mohammed Nayeem, a native of Pokkunnu, was arrested within 48 hours of the registration of the case by the cyber police. Police sources said he received, collected and used some of the money fraudulently diverted from the company’s account.
According to the investigation team, fraudsters created a fake WhatsApp account using the name and profile picture of the company’s CEO. Believing the instructions to be genuine, the company’s accountant transferred ₹50 lakh from the company’s bank account through RTGS.
The alleged fraud came to light after the complainant alerted the National Cyber Crime Helpline (1930), following which a case was registered. Investigators looked into the details of the transaction and traced the money to a private bank account where ₹5,000 was transferred as part of the second layer of the laundering process.
Police said bank records and related digital evidence revealed that the amount was credited to Mr Nayeem’s account and withdrawn by check on the same day. He was subsequently tracked using technical evidence, arrested on Friday (July 3, 2026) and produced before a court which remanded him in judicial custody.
The investigation is under the supervision of District Superintendent of Police (Kozhikode City) AP Shoukatha Ali, Deputy Commissioner of Police Padam Singh, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Cybercrime) SM Pradeep Kumar and Inspector MV Sreedas.
Police sources said efforts are underway to identify other members of the fraud network, recover the remaining funds and establish a complete money trail. Following the incident, the district police chief also issued an advisory warning business firms to act on financial instructions received through WhatsApp or other messaging platforms without independently verifying them with the relevant official through a known phone number.
Published – 03 Jul 2026 23:30 IST