In early January, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) arrested four people in connection with the instant loan app scam. Now, two more Malayalis have been arrested in the case. The arrested individuals are Sayyid Muhammed from Kozhikode and Varghese from Fort Kochi.
The ED recorded their arrests following the earlier detention of four individuals from Kanchipuram, Chennai—Daniel Selvakumar, Kathiravan Ravi, Anto Paul Prakash, and Alan Samuel. The arrests were made based on an FIR registered by the Kerala Police.
The investigation revealed that the accused misused documents submitted for loan app registrations, took control of users’ phones during the registration process, and used morphed nude images to extort large sums of money from borrowers. The scam involved financial transactions amounting to ₹1,600 crore.
These fraudulent loan apps, often linked to Chinese entities, accessed users’ mobile data, including photos, and took control of their devices. Borrowers were initially offered small loans, which were later increased significantly. When they failed to repay, exorbitant interest rates were imposed, and borrowers were blackmailed using their personal images. This has led to numerous cases of suicides across the country.
