Two men have been arrested in Ahmedabad for allegedly facilitating a cyber fraud in which a Surat-based complainant was duped of ₹27 lakh on the pretext of high returns through share trading. Investigators further found that a bank account allegedly used in the scheme was linked to 14 separate online cheating complaints across multiple states, involving a combined alleged fraud of ₹8.93 crore.

How the Fraud Unfolded

According to police, the accused first contacted the complainant via WhatsApp and shared a link to a fake share trading website, where a dummy account was created in his name. They allegedly promised attractive returns from equity trading and gradually persuaded him to transfer a total of ₹27 lakh across multiple bank accounts.

'The complainant was subsequently prevented from withdrawing the money,' police stated. The fraud model — luring victims through messaging apps with promises of outsized investment gains — is a pattern authorities have flagged repeatedly across India's growing cyber fraud landscape.

Who Was Arrested

The Cyber Crime Cell of Surat City Police arrested the two accused following a technical investigation. They have been identified as Sameerkhan Pathan, 30, and Mohammad Sheikh, 31, both residents of the Jamalpur area in Ahmedabad. Pathan works as a casual labourer and studied up to Class 10, while Sheikh is also a casual labourer and holds a B.Com degree.

The case has been registered under Sections 318(4), 336(2), 338, 336(3), 340(2), 61(2) and 3(5) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, and Section 66(D) of the Information Technology Amendment Act, 2008.

The Mule Account Trail

Police said Pathan allegedly handed over a savings account held in his name with the Bank of Maharashtra to Sheikh in exchange for a commission of ₹8,000. Sheikh then allegedly passed the account to an absconding accused for use in the fraud, receiving a commission of ₹15,000 in return.

Investigators found that transactions totalling ₹30,09,057 were routed through the bank account between 3 May and 7 June 2025. A search on the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal using the account details returned 14 complaints registered across different states, pointing to an organised network using rented or purchased bank accounts — commonly called 'mule accounts' — to launder proceeds of online fraud.

Scale of the Wider Network

The aggregate alleged fraud linked to the single account stood at ₹8,93,80,922, according to police. This pattern — where low-level middlemen rent out bank accounts for small commissions, enabling large-scale fraud by operators who remain at arm's length — has emerged as a key enforcement challenge for cyber crime units nationwide. A third accused in the case remains absconding, and investigators are reportedly pursuing leads.

Police Advisory and What Victims Should Do

Surat City Police have urged residents to exercise caution when approached with online investment schemes promising guaranteed or unusually high returns, and to verify the identity and credentials of any unknown individual before transferring money. Victims of financial cyber fraud have been advised to immediately dial the national cybercrime helpline 1930 to improve the likelihood of the fraudulent funds being frozen in the relevant accounts.