Hyderabad: The Cyberabad Economic Offences Wing (EOW) has registered a case against a Nizampet-based couple for allegedly defrauding 52 people of about Rs 12.06 crore through a chit fund scam.

Mohammed Ali and his wife Reshma Jabeen had been running chit schemes in the city since 2016. According to the police, they collected monthly instalments from small traders, homemakers, and IT employees, with payments made via UPI to accounts linked to them.

One of the victims, P Praveen Kumar, 40, a private employee, stated that he had invested Rs 34 lakh but received no returns. He said the couple abruptly stopped the chit schemes in October, citing financial losses, and promised to sell their house to repay investors.

However, within days, the couple locked their house, switched off their phones, and went into hiding.

The police have registered a case and launched a search for them.