Group of Indian-origin alleged fraudsters face trial in Scotland court

London: A group of Indian-origin alleged fraudsters, including a woman, arrested and charged in connection with a high-value fraud face trial in a Scottish court in the coming weeks after they declined to enter a plea.

According to Police Scotland, the arrests took place as part of an ongoing investigation into a “significant fraud” where an elderly woman in South Lanarkshire, Scotland, had a seven-figure sum in pounds stolen between May and August 2023. The force said six men and one woman were arrested on December 14 following a joint operation with policing partners in Essex, London, and Eastbourne.

While two men aged 23 and 28 years were released on bail to appear at a later date, Londoners Mukesh Vippanapelli, 41, Vageesan Sunmugaraja, 50, and Sunil Theyath, 39, appeared at Airdrie Sheriff Court in North Lanarkshire on December 27.

Their alleged accomplices Hafeeza Samreen, 34, and Umar Mohammed, 39, from Eastbourne, also appeared during the hearing, all charged with a “fraudulent scheme.” “It should be noted that the case is active for the purposes of the Contempt of Court Act 1981,” said the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service of Scotland, with reference to restrictions that now apply in the case which prevent further details from being reported on.

Police Scotland said its officers were assisted by partners from the UK National Crime Agency’s National Economic Crime Centre and colleagues from other police forces. The arrests took place across the coastal towns of Eastbourne and Stansted, Dagenham, and East Ham in London and the investigation into the fraudulent scheme is said to be continuing.