The Greater Chennai Police Arrest Two Nigerian Nationals in Matrimonial Website Fraud Case

The Greater Chennai Police (GCP) have apprehended two Nigerian nationals who allegedly defrauded a Chennai woman of Rs 2.87 crore by targeting her on a popular matrimonial website. The accused, Augustine Maduabuchi, 29, and Chinedu, 36, both residents of New Delhi, were arrested on February 7. As part of the operation, the police also confiscated seven mobile phones, three laptops, and 40 debit cards. Following their arrest, the suspects were presented before the Metropolitan Magistrate Court in Egmore and subsequently sent to Puzhal Central Prison in Chennai.

The victim, a resident of KK Nagar, reported the incident to the Cyber Crime Branch of the GCP in December last year. She claimed that she had initiated contact with a person named Alexander Sanchez on the matrimonial site, and their conversations had quickly shifted to the messaging platform WhatsApp.

According to the police, the accused allegedly proposed marriage to the woman and promised to meet her in Chennai. Subsequently, she received a call from an individual posing as a Customs officer at New Delhi airport, who informed her that valuable gifts had been dispatched to her address. Believing the call to be genuine, the victim paid Rs 2.87 crore to various bank accounts as instructed by the imposter. It was only after two months that she realized she had been scammed and filed a police complaint.

An investigation into the matter unveiled the Know Your Customer (KYC) details of the bank accounts to which the money was transferred. The police discovered that these accounts were registered under fake names, spread across different locations such as South Delhi, Meghalaya, Kerala, Gujarat, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, West Bengal, Manipur, and Mizoram. The culprits were found to have made ATM withdrawals and utilized net banking facilities near Uttam Nagar, Mohan Garden, and Dwarka in New Delhi.

Commenting on the fraudulent scheme, the police stated, “The victims are deceived with false promises of marriage and enticed into gift scams. The fraudsters then contact the victims impersonating customs officials and demand payments for the clearance of high-value parcels. The victims are coerced into transferring money to various bank accounts under the pretext of clearance fees, fines, etc.”