One suspect in theft of over MVR 200k by hacking confesses, offers to return money

A suspect arrested on suspicion of hacking a person’s social media accounts and stealing over MVR 279,000 from their bank accounts has confessed to the crime.

Ten suspects were arrested under a court order during an operation linked to a case involving the hacking of an individual’s social media accounts and stealing over MVR 279,000 from their bank accounts. This was followed up by additional arrests.

The remand of four suspects was extended by the Criminal Court on Wednesday. They are:

• Abdulla Nafiz, 39, Primrose, HDh. Vaikaradhoo
• Mohamed Nuhadh Ali, 30, M. Malege’aage, Male’
• Ali Imran, 38, Heenaamaage, GDh, Fiyoari
• Abdulla Israq, 19, Gulbakaage, GDh. Thinadhoo

Their remand was extended by 15 days.

During the remand proceedings, Nafiz confessed to the alleged theft and expressed his intention to return the money to the owner.

Prior to this, the Police has stated that six of the 10 suspects deposited money obtained through the scam into their own accounts and later withdrew the funds. One suspect used the stolen money to pay various businesses for goods purchases, while the remaining three suspects withdrew stolen funds from ATMs through third parties.

The case is under further investigation by the Police’s Anti-Scam Centre.