Mumbai Investment Scam: Woman Entrepreneur Duped of Over Rs 53 Lakh on Pretext of High Returns

The Cyber Cell of the North Region Division has arrested a 38-year-old man, Dinesh Rishpal Chawla, in connection with a case where a woman entrepreneur was allegedly cheated of nearly Rs 53.73 lakh under the pretext of high-return investments. Police investigations revealed that Chawla was in touch with cyber fraudsters and had opened multiple bank accounts for them, where the defrauded money was deposited.

The victim, Rani Kahar, is a software developer residing in Malad and operates her own business. She manages four savings and current accounts across two banks and conducts most of her transactions online. During a conversation with her IT friend named Srinivas, he introduced her to a trading company claiming it offered lucrative returns on investments.

Relying on his suggestion, Rani was added to the company's WhatsApp group and later received a registration link. After submitting her personal and banking details through this link, she began investing in the company in phases, eventually putting in close to Rs 60 lakh.

Initially, the company returned Rs 6.25 lakh as profit, showing her that the funds were being invested in various shares via the company’s online wallet. Encouraged by the gains, she continued investing. However, when she tried to withdraw the profits (excluding the principal), she was unable to transfer the funds to her bank account.

When she inquired, she was told that withdrawing the funds would negatively impact her credit score. The company further demanded Rs 90 lakh to facilitate the withdrawal. She was then asked to deposit Rs 44 lakh or else face a 3% tax deduction starting February 2025.

Growing suspicious, Rani began researching the company and discovered it to be fake. She found that the company had duped several people across the country under the guise of online trading. She had already lost Rs 53.73 lakh by then. Following this revelation, she approached the Cyber Helpline and registered a complaint with the Cyber Cell.

Upon investigation, the police filed a case under various sections of the Indian Penal Code and the IT Act. Technical evidence led them to Dinesh Chawla, who was detained for questioning.

During interrogation, Chawla confessed to opening bank accounts on the instructions of cyber criminals and allowing them to use the accounts to collect the defrauded money. He kept a commission and forwarded the rest to the fraudsters. Based on this evidence, he was arrested and presented before a local court in Borivali, which remanded him to police custody.

Police suspect the involvement of more individuals in the scam and have launched a manhunt to trace them.