Retired MD of bank loses Rs 1.60 crore to share trading fraud

Nagpur, Sept 30 (PTI) A retired managing director of a prominent PSU bank in Nagpur was allegedly cheated of Rs 1.60 crore by cyber criminals who lured him with high returns on share trading investments, police said on Tuesday. Police managed to freeze Rs 54 lakh transferred in the accounts of fraudsters after the victim lodged a complaint on September 21, an official said.

The complainant, who had served as MD of SBI, received a WhatsApp message on April 18 from a woman who introduced herself as Isha Arora. She invited him to join a stock trading group run by one Ajay Krishna, who posed as a "gold stock mentor." In the group, Krishna gave investment advice and promised high returns, police said.

On July 3, the victim opened a Demat account and initially invested Rs 50,000. Within a few days, the account reflected a 5 percent “profit”, which encouraged him to invest more. On August 21, he was advised to buy 2,58,332 shares at Rs 120 each, worth nearly Rs 4 crore, the FIR said.

At that time, his account balance was Rs 1.92 crore. However, the fraudsters told him that his action violated SEBI rules and threatened him with legal action, and even jail. They offered a "solution" by arranging a loan of Rs 87 lakh.

When the victim attempted to sell the shares, the accused demanded additional payment under the head of "capital gain tax." When he asked for official documents, they refused. Realising he had been duped, he filed an online complaint on September 21.

The complainant has put the cumulative loss to Rs 1.60 crore. A case has been registered against four individuals, and further investigation is underway, police said. PTI COR NSK