‘Discounted gold’ scam sees Hyderabad techie, nine friends lose Rs 5.6 crore

Hyderabad: A city-based software engineer and nine of his friends were allegedly swindled of Rs 5.6 crore by a businessman who promised to sell them gold at heavily discounted rates. What began as a seemingly genuine deal — with an initial delivery of a 100-gram gold bar — soon turned into a calculated fraud, prompting the victims to approach the Cyberabad police nearly a year later.

Following a complaint from the primary victim, M Ravi Teja (35), a resident of Puppalaguda, the economic offences wing (EOW) booked a case against businessman M Seshuvardhar Reddy and his aides.

According to Teja, the accused was introduced to him by a friend, Vamsi Krishna, an IT professional based in the city. Reddy claimed to run a business supplying iPhones, air-conditioners, and gold at discounted rates through his company.

“Reddy said he could deliver 100-gram gold biscuits for Rs 6 lakh — nearly Rs 2 lakh below the market price,” Teja said in his complaint.

To test the waters, Teja paid Rs 6 lakh in March 2024 and received a gold bar the following month. Convinced, he and nine others went on to transfer sums between Rs 15 lakh and Rs 1.75 crore through UPI, bank transfers, and cash over two months.

The businessman had promised to deliver the remaining gold by June 2024, but never did. When the victims sought an explanation, they were allegedly threatened. A Rs 43 lakh cheque issued by Reddy in May 2024 also bounced due to insufficient funds. When they visited Reddy’s offices in Bachupally and Gandhamguda, they found them closed and his phone switched off.

After waiting almost a year in the hope of recovering their money, the victims approached the police in early July this year. Following a preliminary inquiry, the EOW filed a case on July 19 under sections 406 (criminal breach of trust), 420 (cheating), 506 (criminal intimidation) read with 34 (common intention) of the IPC, and section 5 of the Telangana Protection of Depositors of Financial Establishments Act, 1999.