TN Police Shift Crypto Scam Cases to Economic Offences Wing

The Tamil Nadu police have transferred six cases related to cryptocurrency trading scams to the Economic Offences Wing (EOW) due to suspected international links and significant financial losses. The cases involve a multi-level marketing scheme bearing the names of 'FQL Investment Trading', 'FQL Exchange App', and 'VG Investment Group Syndicate'. Agents allegedly lured victims by promising unusually high daily rewards, claiming invested amounts could be doubled within 40-45 days through crypto trading.

Preliminary investigations indicate that local agents induced victims to transfer funds via cash and G-Pay/UPI transactions. Part of these funds were allegedly converted into Tether (USDT) and credited to FQL/VG wallets. Eventually, withdrawals failed, further payments were demanded, and the application was shut down, leaving investors unable to access their balances.

The DGP Mahesh Kumar Aggarwal ordered the transfer of the six cases on August 31, citing the extent of the network, the large number of victims, and the involvement of cryptocurrency transactions utilizing Binance wallets. So far, 17 accused have been arrested and remanded to judicial custody, and 13 bank accounts linked to the individuals have been frozen.