Cyberabad Cyber Crime Police have arrested seven persons in connection with an online trading and investment fraud in which a city resident was allegedly cheated of ₹95 lakh through a fake investment platform promising high returns.The case came to light after the victim, Srikanth Reddy alias Suresh Reddy, approached the police alleging that he had been lured into investing through an online platform operating under the name “Elera Capital Desk”. The fraudsters allegedly contacted him through WhatsApp groups and other online channels.The victim initially invested ₹46 lakh. The accused allegedly displayed a notional profit of ₹2.04 crore in his online trading account to gain his confidence. When he attempted to withdraw the amount, he was allegedly asked to pay additional sums towards taxes, security deposits, processing fees and other charges.Believing the claims, the victim transferred another ₹49 lakh. However, the promised withdrawal never materialised, resulting in a total loss of ₹95 lakh.Police analysis revealed that the fraud proceeds had been routed through 45-layered bank accounts in an apparent attempt to conceal their origin. Special teams subsequently conducted an operation in the Gajuwaka area of Visakhapatnam and arrested seven accused identified as Raparthi Gautham, Senapathi Pentayya, Bodala Sai Kumar, Murapakala Kumar, Vijjipu Satyanarayana, Mantri Sai Kumar and Uta Narayana.As part of the investigation, police seized ₹26.57 lakh in cash and froze bank accounts containing ₹12 lakh. Investigators also secured court orders for the refund of ₹9 lakh to the victim. Published - June 21, 2026 07:49 pm IST