Ex-banker among 2 held in investment scam

Narnaul: Police have busted an interstate syndicate accused of duping people through a fake stock market investment racket, with the arrest of two key operatives, including a former banking professional.While Harish was apprehended from Faridkot in Punjab on Saturday, Pankaj, who had worked in banks as deputy assistant manager and sales officer, was arrested from Gwalior in Madhya Pradesh on May 6. Officials said the two played key roles in laundering and routing money siphoned from victims across multiple states. The probe began after Sunder Kumar, a resident of Jhuk village in Mahendergarh district, alleged he was cheated of Rs 14.26 lakh between Dec 2025 and March 2026. Police said the fraudsters initially contacted the victim through WhatsApp while posing as senior representatives of a financial services firm. Kumar was persuaded to download a fraudulent trading application that falsely reflected profits exceeding Rs 33 crore in his account. However, when he attempted to withdraw the amount, the accused allegedly demanded an additional Rs 3.34 crore as "10% tax clearance". Cyber experts traced nearly Rs 6.33 lakh of the defrauded amount to a bank account linked with a shell firm in Gwalior. Police said the account was already associated with eight cyber fraud complaints registered across the country and a separate Rs 96 lakh cheating case lodged in Delhi. Officials said Harish was allegedly responsible for handling the laundering network. A raid at his location in Faridkot led to the recovery of Rs 1.25 lakh in cash, 15 cheque books, six ATM cards, seven bank passbooks, four mobile phones and several forged documents allegedly used in the operation. Police said Pankaj, the second accused, created the shell company using forged signatures, fabricated rent agreements and illegally procured SIM cards to operate online banking services connected to the fraudulent accounts. Both accused are currently on police remand. MSID:: 130991969 413 |