Hyderabad: A 57-year-old city businessman has lost 1.52 crore in an online forex-trading fraud. On the victim’s complaint, Malkajgiri police have registered a case and launched a probe to nab the accused.The victim from Habsiguda approached police alleging that he was duped by a woman operating under the name Khushi Sharma and others. Police said the victim connected with Sharma through Facebook on May 5, 2025, after she sent multiple friend requests. Claiming links to Bokaro Steel City, Sharma won the victim’s trust and persuaded him to download the ‘Dupoin Market’ app using a link and invitation code she supplied. Posing as a forex trading mentor, she first guided him to deposit 43,500, then showed fictitious profits on the app to build confidence.Over the next few months, the victim followed instructions from the fraudster, and when he attempted to withdraw, administrators demanded successive payments of 65 lakh for VIP access, 41 lakh as a guarantee fee, and further amounts for income tax, anti-money laundering, and platform charges. Despite paying the demanded fee and transferring over 1.52 crore in 46 transactions, no withdrawal was permitted.“The platform dashboard falsely reflected an investment worth 2.15 crore, and the accused suddenly stopped all communication when I refused to pay any additional amounts,” the victim said.On the complaint of the victim, Malkajgiri police registered a case on Sunday under Sections 316(2), 318(4), 319(2) and 338 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and Sections 66C and 66D of the Information Technology Act.
