A doctor from Hyderabad in India lost Rs 11 crore in a cryptocurrency scam where he was duped by a group of accused persons who lured the victim with high returns on crypto investment. Police said the accused posed as representatives of Webull, a reputable forex trading platform, and coerced the victim to make multiple deposits of INR running into crores.
According to the police, the victim, identified as Dr. Sameer Azad Mahendra, a resident of Hyderabad, who was approached by an accused named Mittal who posed as a representative of Webull. The scammers had advised the doctor to convert Indian currency into a cryptocurrency USTD via RTGS. Further, he was told to pay a tax of 3.7 crore on his withdrawals as per US Federal Rules as Non-Resident, reported The Times of India.
Police added that between August to November, 2024, Dr. Mahendra has done multiple RTGS transactions from 3 bank accounts. The scammers asked him to pay Rs 3.7 crore as “advance tax” on crypto investments, that were carried out through RTGS transactions.
According to police, the victim grew suspicious when the accused asked him to make another tax payment in his bank account. On November 30, the victim finally submitted a complaint to Telangana Cyber Police after which an FIR was filed in the case. Police have registered the case under elevant sections of the Information Technology (Amendment) Act and Bharatiya Nyay Samhita.