A man has been arrested for fraudulently extorting money from various people and depositing it into business accounts.
Police identified the suspect as 23-year-old Mohamed Shavin from Baa Thulhaadhoo.
They said that Shavin was arrested after a case was filed with the Police after he had failed to complete a dollar exchange transaction after having answered an AD on a Viber group.
Police said that the seller had deposited USD 1,250 to Shavin and that he had failed to pay the seller in Dhivehi Rufiyya. Police also said that the USD 1,250 had been recovered from Shavin's account and that funds related to two other cases have also been recovered from his accounts.
Police said that Shavin had been remanded in custody for 10 days and that they were further investigating the allegations against him.
They said that initial findings show that the suspect has been approaching local businesses to fraudulently extort money from them and that he was active on several social media platforms.
Police said that he fraudulently deposited money into various business accounts, claiming to provide dollars, selling goods, and offering other services.
They stated that Shavin is calling the businesses to collect cash, and in cases where cash is not available, the goods are being confiscated.
Police had urged the public and local businesses to be vigilant of such criminals and their devious ways to extort money from members of the public and local businesses.
