HYDERABAD: A private employee from Chanda Nagar alleged he was cheated of ₹10 lakh by fraudsters who lured him into investing through a fake international trading platform and WhatsApp group, police said.
According to the complaint, Durga Prasad Pagadala, 40, an MBA graduate residing at Chanda Nagar, stated that he was added to an investment group on January 28, 2026 by a person identifying himself as Piyush Sharma.
The complainant said Sharma claimed to be an investment banker writing a book on stock markets and began providing training on trading basics and candlestick analysis. He later shared daily stock tips, which initially showed no losses, building trust.
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Fake "ALUA" account used for international trading claims
Pagadala stated that the accused introduced a "Universal Account ALUA" for international trading in Indian, American and Hong Kong markets through the website alua. He initially invested ₹1,00,000 and was shown a profit of ₹40,000, which he successfully withdrew.
Encouraged by this, he transferred ₹5,00,000 to a bank account suggested by the accused. The app then displayed a virtual profit of ₹9,37,082 and asked him to invest the amount in the IPO of Rajputana Stainless Limited.
The complainant said Sharma advised him to apply for three to four times the available amount to secure higher IPO allocation. He was shown share allocation worth ₹15,36,390 and asked to pay ₹5,99,308 as balance to sell them.
Additional payments demanded before withdrawal
Pagadala transferred ₹5,00,000 on March 18, 2026 and another ₹49,000 and ₹50,000 on March 19, 2026. The app then displayed further allocation worth ₹13,08,816 and demanded more payment to sell shares.
He realised it was a fraud when repeated payments were demanded to withdraw the alleged profits. He stated that the accused created forged links and a fake app to induce investment.
The complainant said he transferred a total of ₹11,99,000 through bank accounts and UPI IDs. Of this, ₹1,40,000 was refunded initially, and the rest remained unpaid. The fraudsters later demanded ₹13,08,816 to withdraw the displayed profit.
Police are examining the complaint and the digital transaction details.

