Police arrest three men in Kozhikode in connection with a ₹25-crore fake online trading scam that duped a Kochi businessman through a bogus portal named Capitalix.

How Trust Turned Costly in India’s Biggest Investment Fraud

The420 Correspondent
3 Min Read

The Kochi Cyber Police have arrested Rahees P.K. (39), Ansar V. (39), and Anees Rahman C.K. (25) from Pantheerankavu in Kozhikode, in connection with a ₹25-crore online trading scam, believed to be the country’s largest single-victim investment fraud.
The arrests follow the earlier detention of Sujitha G. (38) from Kollam, bringing the total number of arrests to four.

According to police, the 49-year-old victim, a businessman from Elamkulam, was contacted by a Malayalam-speaking fraudster identifying himself as “Daniel.” Over weeks of phone calls and online chats, the con artist convinced him to invest large sums through a platform called “Capitalix.”

When the businessman tried to sell his shares, he discovered that Capitalix was a fake portal, designed solely to siphon funds.

FCRF Launches CCLP Program to Train India’s Next Generation of Cyber Law Practitioners

Operation Capitalix: How the Money Vanished

Investigators found that the victim had transferred ₹24.76 crore across numerous accounts linked to the accused. The fraud was uncovered when transactions began routing through multiple shell accounts spread across India and abroad.
Police seized 40 mobile phones, over 200 SIM cards, and documents from 40 bank accounts, suggesting the network may have orchestrated several other cybercrimes.

“We suspect this group handled many accounts used to route the money overseas,” said City Police Commissioner Putta Vimaladitya. “We have frozen one account containing ₹40 lakh and continue efforts to trace the rest.”

Authorities believe part of the money was transferred to Cyprus, where the fraudulent trading platform was hosted. A mutual legal assistance request has been sent to Cyprus police seeking cooperation.

The Expanding Cybercrime Nexus

Officials said the accused took about ₹3.4 lakh as their personal share from the embezzled funds, acting as intermediaries for larger criminal operations. The Capitalix domain, hosted outside India, is now being blocked under cybercrime coordination laws.

Police are examining whether the accused worked as part of a multi-country cyber syndicate, using foreign-registered shell companies and crypto channels to mask transactions.

A Wake-Up Call for Investors

The Kozhikode case has reignited debate on regulatory loopholes in online trading and fintech platforms, many of which remain unmonitored despite handling large-scale investments.

“Scams like these are increasingly sophisticated — they speak your language, mimic legitimate portals, and exploit trust,” said a senior officer from the cybercrime division. “The lesson is simple: verify every platform before investing a single rupee.”

Stay Connected