Colaba stock market trader arrested for duping man of ₹6.78cr

Malabar Hill police have arrested a Colaba-based stock market trader for allegedly cheating a south Mumbai resident to the tune of ₹6.78 crore on the pretext of investing his money in the National Stock Exchange (NSE). Instead of investing the money, the accused spent it on personal expenses, the police discovered in the investigation.

The arrested accused, Carl Marzban Patrawala, 32, was arrested on Wednesday and is in police custody. He has been charged under sections 409 (criminal breach of trust by public servant, or by banker, merchant or agent), 420 (cheating), and 120-B (criminal conspiracy).

According to the police, Patrawala had taken nearly ₹7 crore from the complainant between November 13, 2017, and September 24, 2018.

“He had taken the money on the pretext of investing it in the ‘option segment’ in the NSE. He had promised to return the principal amount at a yearly interest rate of 36%,” said a police officer from the Malabar Hill police station.

To gain the complainant’s trust, the accused had transferred some money to him as interest on the investment. He later took more money from the complainant claiming he would invest it in the stock market.

During the investigation, cops analysed the transaction made from Patrawala’s two bank accounts and realized that the accused did not invest the entire amount he had taken from the complainant in the stock market. Instead, he used some of it for his personal use.

The probe revealed that the accused used nearly ₹2.35 crore to clear his debts and make credit card payments, an officer said.

Police have come across the names of 12 individuals to whom the accused had given the complainant’s money. The accused, however, has not furnished details on these individuals or the reason for the payments to them.

During questioning, Patrawala claimed that he had suffered huge losses in the stock market and had no intention of cheating. The investigation revealed that the accused has taken money from other people as well to invest.

First Published: Apr 13, 2019 23:53 IST