The crime branch of Odisha Police arrested 24 interstate cyber fraudsters in connection with the cheating of a corporate employee who lost Rs 6.28 crore.

The Additional Director General (ADG) of crime branch, Vinaytosh Mishra, said police froze Rs 16.85 lakh from the suspects’ bank accounts and returned Rs 6.8 lakh to the victim.

According to the complaint, the victim was added to a fraudulent WhatsApp group and lured into investing a large sum for promised high returns.

Following the complaint, seven teams were formed to probe the interstate fraud ring.

The police teams arrested nine accused from Tamil Nadu, eight from Gujarat and seven from Rajasthan, Mishra said.

Speaking about the modus operandi of the fraudsters, the crime branch officer said that the arrested people are not the real kingpins.

They may be termed foot soldiers of a major syndicate that cheats people.

The victim was initially given shares worth Rs 19 each, which quickly inflated to Rs 110, raising the fund value to Rs 25 crore, Mishra said.

When the complainant wanted to withdraw the money, the group admin allowed him to withdraw Rs 23 crore on August 21, 2024.

When he made an attempt to withdraw his funds, he was removed from that WhatsApp group and the application used for transactions was deactivated.

From the bank details and other documents collected during the investigation, the police identified 24 accused people from three states, Mishra said.

“As of date the team has apprehended nine accused persons from Tamil Nadu, eight accused from Gujarat and seven from Rajasthan,” he said adding that six of the accused were produced before a court on October 28 and 11 will be produced before a court on Wednesday.

Another seven accused are being brought to Odisha from Rajasthan on transit remand, he said, adding that the investigation is in progress.