Pune: In a shocking case of cyber fraud, a software engineer in Pimpri-Chinchwad lost ₹71 lakh after falling victim to a scam on Instagram. Cyber police have arrested a Russian national, Tony, from Goa in connection with the case. Another accused, Shreyas Sanjay Mane, who allegedly orchestrated the operations in Pune, had already been arrested earlier.

The incident came to light when the victim, while watching Instagram reels, clicked on an advertisement without much thought. Shortly afterward, the victim was added to several WhatsApp groups promoting stock market investments.

Lured with promises of high returns, the victim was directed to a fake website to invest in trending stocks and IPOs. Over time, the scamsters siphoned off ₹71 lakh.

When the victim realized the fraud, they approached the Cyber Police Department in Pimpri-Chinchwad and lodged a complaint. Inspector Swami and his team initiated an investigation, tracing the fraudulent transactions to a bank account in Goa.

The police team, with the help of local authorities in Goa, arrested Russian national Tony, who was found to be a key player in the scam. Another accused, Shreyas Mane, was previously arrested.

According to the investigation, Shreyas would collect bank account details and mobile connections under the guise of gaming from his friends. He frequently traveled to Goa by flight, where he collaborated with Tony to execute cyber crimes.

The stolen money was transferred to Dubai and other locations. Police revealed that Gujarat police were also searching for Tony in connection with similar cases.

The scam involved at least three individuals — Tony, Shreyas, and another individual named Mark. While two suspects have been arrested, further investigations are ongoing to apprehend the third accused and recover the stolen funds.