Thousands of women from villages around Madurai have been drawn into a suspected online investment fraud involving app-based schemes promising quick returns, leading to police arrests and protests over recoveries.
A suspected app-based investment fraud has drawn thousands of women from villages around Madurai into a widening police probe, after complaints that money promised quick, dollar-denominated gains instead vanished. According to local reports, nearly 5,000 people gathered at a marriage hall in Melur on Friday to approach police, many saying they had been persuaded to join a scheme that claimed it could double their money in 45 days.
Police believe the alleged scam could ultimately involve losses of more than Rs 100 crore and extend beyond Madurai into neighbouring Sivaganga district. The operation is said to have relied heavily on rural agents in places including Kattayampatti, Kottanathampatti, A. Vallalapatti, Ayyapatti and Melavalam in Melur taluk, with many victims describing the pitch as a form of fraud that mirrored a Tamil film plot.
The Times of India reported that complaints began to mount after the app, identified in some accounts as FQL, stopped functioning in recent months. Investors said they had been told to put in sums ranging from Rs 50,000 to nearly Rs 1.5 lakh, often with the promise that the money would be converted into cryptocurrency and then doubled after a period of roughly 45 days to 18 months.
The New Indian Express said the case has triggered arrests and broader enforcement action, with police detaining 12 people and moving to freeze passports as they continue their investigation. The paper also reported that the alleged fraud was run through a link-and-app system in which investors were shown fake account balances, while cash payments were collected in person by intermediaries. Protests over the losses have turned tense in parts of Madurai and Dindigul, with victims demanding the return of their savings and the arrest of the main suspects.
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