Gujarat: 45-year-old executive wloses Rs 1.7 crore in online investment scam

Ahmedabad: Lured by promises of high yield on online investments, an executive working with a leading business group lost Rs 1.68 crore, according to a complaint registered with cybercrime police on Wednesday.The victim, a 45-year-old resident of Khodiyar, lost the money between Feb 25 and March 13.According to the complaint, he was added to a messaging group in Jan where members regularly shared posts about stock market investments and profits. The group included several participants who claimed to have earned significant returns, which led the victim to believe the scheme was genuine.Later, he was contacted by individuals posing as investment advisors and account managers. They guided him to download a mobile application and create an account for trading and investment purposes. The accused also collected his personal details under the pretext of completing registration and verification. Over the next few weeks between late Feb and mid-March, the victim transferred money in multiple transactions to different bank accounts as instructed by the accused. The total amount transferred reached Rs 1.68 crore. The victim was told that the funds were being invested in stock market instruments and initial public offerings through the application.Police said the application interface showed increasing returns, which further convinced the victim to continue investing. At one stage, he was asked to deposit additional funds for participating in an IPO. However, when he expressed inability to arrange more money, doubts arose about the authenticity of the scheme.After discussing the matter with a family member, the victim realised that he was cheated and contacted the cybercrime helpline. A formal complaint was later registered with the cybercrime police.Officials said the accused used multiple mobile numbers, messaging platforms and bank accounts to execute the fraud. The case has been registered under relevant sections of cheating under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and the Information Technology Act.