Thiruvananthapuram: Two former employees at actress Diya Krishna’s store, have confessed to defrauding the establishment of lakhs of rupees. According to the police, Vineetha and Radhakumari, two of the three accused, admitted to the crime during their interrogation by the Crime Branch.

The confession came during an investigation conducted at the store. The accused allegedly used a QR code linked to their personal bank accounts to siphon off customer payments. So far, the Crime Branch has unearthed a fraud amounting to Rs 40 lakh.

Customers visiting the store were allegedly given the QR codes of the accused for making payments. In many cases, no official bills were issued. Meanwhile the money collected from the store reached Diya Krishna but the online transactions was directly credited into the personal accounts of Vineetha, Radhakumari and another accused, Divya.

Investigations have revealed that the trio later split the money among themselves and transferred funds to each other via UPI platforms. The accused also admitted to having used the money to purchase gold and scooter. The Crime Branch has since seized the scooter, which was found in the possession of Radhakumari’s husband. The gold is also set to be confiscated, officials confirmed.

The case was originally filed by actor Krishnakumar, Diya Krishna’s father, who alleged that a total of Rs 69 lakh had been embezzled from his daughter’s store using manipulated QR code payments. Supporting his claim, investigators presented bank statements from the three accused, which clearly indicated the diversion of funds.

Following Diya’s wedding, the daily operations of the boutique had been entirely managed by the staff. The investigation into the third accused, Divya, is still ongoing.