Hyderabad Techie Loses Rs.1.04 Crore in Fraud, Ends Life

Hyderabad: After allegedly losing over ₹1.04 crore in an online bitcoin investment scam, a 35-year-old IT employee died by suicide at his residence in Gajularamaram late on December 20, police said. He had borrowed much of the money to pay for the fraudsters who got in touch with him via a matrimonial website, police said.

A case was registered at the Jagadgirigutta police station following a complaint lodged by the victim’s brother-in-law, in which financial losses arising from a cryptocurrency trading fraud were cited as the reason for distress.

The victim had reached out to the Cyberabad cybercrime police at around 6 pm on the same day, after being cheated of ₹1.04 crore in an online bitcoin fraud that began on a matrimonial website.

On November 10, he sent an ‘expression of interest’ on the website to a profile named ‘Sunita Bharggavasa’, who claimed to be residing in London. She subsequently asked him to share his biodata on WhatsApp and began chatting with him regularly.

Over time, she persuaded him to invest in Bitcoin trading through a website, starting with an initial investment of ₹1.1 lakh. To gain his confidence, the platform showed him small profits of around ₹14,000.

Encouraged by this, he further invested ₹5 lakh, ₹10 lakh and ₹20 lakh. The woman also claimed that she had added ₹25 lakh from her UK account, projecting the total investment as $50,000, as per the FIR.

The victim stated that when he was unwell and unreachable, the woman contacted his sister using an Indian mobile number and continued communication. After multiple trades, the platform displayed virtual profits exceeding 2 lakh USDT. He was then instructed to raise a withdrawal request for 1 lakh USDT to clear liabilities incurred through credit cards taken in his name and borrowed from friends and relatives.

When he attempted the withdrawal, the platform demanded a 10 per cent tax of 14,544.9 USDT, which he paid on December 14 using borrowed credit cards. The following day, citing an alleged money laundering issue, the platform demanded 25,000 USDT, claiming that part of the funds had been refunded to the woman’s account. He reportedly took loans from a bank and paid 15,000 USDT as demanded.

The demands continued, with the platform asking for a one-time transfer fee of 9,900 USDT on December 18, followed by another 9,000 USDT, all of which he paid by availing additional loans and credit cards. Despite these payments, the withdrawal was blocked, citing alleged transfers to different accounts.

Police records state that the victim transferred ₹25 lakh to various bank accounts and UPI IDs linked to the fraudsters, of which only ₹20,000 was returned. The app later displayed a virtual profit of ₹1.5 crore and demanded an additional ₹79.50 lakh to process a withdrawal.

It was after making enquiries that he realised the trading platform was forged and that he had been cheated of ₹1,04,30,830. A case has been registered with the Cyberabad cybercrime police and further investigation into the incident is underway.