He has been identified as John Sakaria Stephen (46), a resident of Yadav Layout, Kammanahalli.

He is a relative of Joseph Chacko, a land developer  from Kerala and also the prime accused.

Police suspect he has gone out of the country.

Stephen was changing hide outs in Kerala, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu for the past several months. On a tip-off, police arrested him on Tuesday when he landed in Bangalore.

The duo had allegedly cheated several NRIs, promising them houses at reasonable rates in an apartment in a posh locality in Bangalore.

Nine cases have been registered against Chacko at Hennur police station, said the police.

Chacko used to issue advertisements in news papers in Gulf countries, mostly in Qatar, addressing the NRIs. As many as 70 NRIs invested between Rs 10 and 20 lakh.

Chacko constructed Crown Plaza Hotel International in Hennur. When the NRIs asked for their share in profit, Chacko denied the same.

When some of them told him they would like to stay in their flats for a week, Chacko threatened them.

Some of them lodged complaints with the Indian High Commission in Qatar, which, in turn, transferred the complaints to the State government.

The government had directed the CCB to investigate the matter. The CCB raided the hotel, arrested eight persons and recovered many documents.

However, Chacko managed to escape.