Two men have been arrested and four others booked over an alleged cryptocurrency investment scheme that police say collected more than ₹10 crore from about 500 people.
Adilabad police have arrested two men from Andhra Pradesh and booked four others over an alleged cryptocurrency investment fraud that investigators say affected about 500 people and involved more than ₹10 crore across Telangana and Andhra Pradesh. Police said the group drew victims in with promises of quick and unusually high returns, using a fabricated online platform and a network of meetings to spread the scheme.
Superintendent of Police Akhil Mahajan told reporters in Adilabad that the arrested suspects were Polamarashetti Rathnaraju of Visakhapatnam and Dondapati Laxmanarao of West Godavari district. He said police had also registered cases against Gopikrishna, Azeem Khan, G. Pramod Kumar and Vemunuri Sudheer for their alleged roles in the operation. Officers seized two mobile phones and documents linked to assets during the investigation.
According to police, the accused claimed they could help investors earn large profits in a short time through cryptocurrency. Investigators said the pair told officers they had first persuaded five people from Adilabad before widening the reach of the scam through virtual meetings and hotel gatherings. Police said the operation also targeted residents of Warangal, Karimnagar and Nizamabad, as well as people in several parts of Andhra Pradesh.
Reports from other outlets suggest the alleged fraud was run through a fake cryptocurrency platform that promised to double investments within two years and paid commissions for recruiting new members, a structure commonly associated with Ponzi-style and multi-level marketing schemes. Those accounts also said the website was shut down after money had been collected and that police believe more victims and additional suspects may still be identified as the probe continues.
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