Assam’s Online Trading Scam

Assam’s ₹22,000 crore scam: CM's warning as key figures arrested

Assam Police unearthed a massive ₹22,000 crore financial scam on Wednesday. According to sources, some brokerage firms duped people with tall promises of doubling their money through sham online stock market investments.

The Assam’s online trading scam revealed that Police arrested two persons, a 22-year-old online trader Vishal Phukan from Dibrugarh and another from Guwahati, Swapnil Das. However, the police department expects more arrests as the investigations spread across the state.

Lavish Lifestyle Lured Investors

Phukan's flaunting of his high-end lifestyle had attracted several investors to him, with Phukan promising a 30 percent return in just 60 days. Phukan has four fictitious companies to his name, investments in the Assamese film industry, and several properties.

During a raid at his Dibrugarh residence, police seized documents related to the multi-crore scam. A search is also on for the Assamese choreographer Sumi Borah, reported to be in connection with Phukan's network.

Fraudsters are misleading the people: CM Biswa

Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma issued warnings against fraudulent online stock market schemes.

He said, “I want to tell the people that there is no such system of investing money in the stock market through these online trading firms. Fraudsters are misleading the people. I urge the people to stay away from fraudsters. Police have now registered cases against the illegal brokers. We will try to bust the entire racket in the state”. This statement came after reports that several online trading companies in Assam were running businesses without complying with SEBI or RBI.

Similar Cases:

1. Man in Maharashtra Duped of ₹1.36 Crore in Online Trading Scam

The victim, a 48-year-old resident of Navi Mumbai, lost ₹1.36 crore in the fraud where victims were lured into share trading. The police registered a case against two people and the firm Angel One under the IPC and IT Act.

The fraud occurred between January 20 and March 13. No arrest has yet been made in the ongoing investigation so far. The victim only realized he had been duped when he did not get the returns as promised and reported the crime to the police.

2. Gurugram Woman Scammed Out of ₹35 Lakh

Few months back unidentified cyber fraudsters in Gurugram allegedly duped a woman of around ₹35 lakh on the pretext of investing money in the stock market.

According to Sakshi Jain, she received a call promising massive returns on the investments made in the stock market. She invested a small amount and was added to the WhatsApp group.

She was asked to invest more and more. She invested a total amount of ₹ 34.91 lakh between March 20 and May 13 as hefty profits were shown in her online account. But when she tried to withdraw money, there came the pressure to put in more money. As something went awry, she shared it with her husband and found herself cheated.