A man arrested for allegedly stealing MVR 50,000 from a bank account through an online scam is also being investigated in connection with 10 similar fraud cases, police told the court.

Moosa Mohamed, 38, was arrested on 2 May in relation to the case. After the expiry of his initial 15-day remand, the court ordered him to remain in custody for a further 30 days.

According to police, Moosa contacted the victim through Facebook Messenger on 24 April. Investigators said the victim later clicked on a link sent through Viber, after which the phone reset and MVR 50,000 was withdrawn from the victim’s bank account.

Police said the money was transferred into an account registered in Moosa’s name.

Court documents state that investigators found evidence linking Moosa to 10 other cases involving similar methods, where funds from different victims’ accounts were allegedly deposited into his account.

Police also told the court that Moosa had said he would repay the money.

The court order states there is sufficient evidence to support the allegations against him.

Documents submitted to the court include the original complaint form, the complainant’s statement, correspondence between police and the bank, the bank’s response and incident reports related to the additional cases under investigation.