77-Year-Old Bengaluru Man Loses Rs 67 Lakh In Pre-IPO Investment Fraud, Case Registered
The fraud came to light when the victim conducted online checks and found details about similar fake schemes.
A 77-year-old Bengaluru resident has filed a case against unknown persons after being allegedly cheated of Rs 67.10 lakh in a pre-IPO investment scam. The senior citizen has alleged the fraud was carried out by a group of persons posing as representatives of a reputed wealth management firm.
Following a complaint, the Cyber Crime Police have registered a case. According to police, the victim was approached on Nov. 25 by a person identifying himself as Yatin Shah. He claimed to be an advisor with IIFL Wealth Management. The accused allegedly promised large pre-IPO share allotments and assured high returns. The victim was deceived into transferring large sums of money to the accused, only to later realise that he had been cheated.
The accused allegedly convinced the complainant to sign an account agreement and pay an initial Rs 5 lakh for the ICICI Prudential AMC issue. The amount was transferred via RTGS on Dec. 16 to a company-linked account.
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The victim was shown notional profits and also told that the shares were in a digital wallet controlled by the accused. Later, the accused coerced the investor to participate in the pre-IPO of Shyam Dhani Industries. Multiple payments were made to different entities across states, with promises of huge profits. At one point, the accused even pressured the victim to accept a higher share allotment and offered him a loan to be able to meet the expenses.
The FIR stated that the complainant was later told the shares had been sold at a huge profit after the lock-in period ended on Jan. 1. However, when he tried to withdraw his funds, the accused refused. He also asked the victim to first repay the loan taken for the investment.
Suspecting the accused’s intentions, the elderly investor conducted online checks and found multiple complaints linked to the same scheme. Realising he had likely been cheated, he approached the Cyber Crime Police and a case was registered.
According to police, the victim transferred a total of Rs 67.10 lakh through multiple bank transactions. An investigation is underway to identify the accused and charge them under the Information Technology Act, 2000 and the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023.
