Builder from Pune duped to the tune of Rs 55 lakh by suspects who approached him in 2019 offering 40 per cent stakes in a T20 cricket tournament in the United StatesA builder from Pune was duped to the tune of Rs 55 lakh by suspects who approached him in 2019 offering 40 per cent stakes in a T20 cricket tournament in the United States, police said.
An FIR in the case was recently registered at Alankar Police station by the 41-year-old builder who heads a construction company based in the Erandwane area of Pune. Based on his FIR, the police have booked five persons, including a woman, who claimed to be office bearers of a Mumbai-based entertainment company.
According to the FIR, the builder approached the five persons in January 2019 at his office in Erandwane. The suspects said that they had submitted a proposal to the cricketing body in the USA for the organisation of a T20 competition. The suspects sought Rs 15 crore from the complainant for 40 per cent stakes in USA T20 cricket league.
As the initial installment, the suspects sought Rs one crore from the builder by March 2019 stating they will obtain a No Objection Certificate (NOC) from the USA cricket body for his involvement in the business and also promised to fly him to the country for the same. They said that if the NOC could not be secured, the builder would get back his initial investment of Rs one crore, according to police.
On January 25, 2019, the builder made a transfer of Rs 1.5 lakh to the bank account of one of the suspects as a token amount. The suspects even entered into a purported notarised agreement with the complainant on February 8, 2019 after which he made a transfer of Rs 23.5 lakh, police said. Until March, the builder further paid Rs 30 lakh to the suspects in cash. But as he started asking them about the visit to the US for the completion of formalities, the suspects started giving him evasive answers.
The builder recently approached the Pune police and said in the complaint that he has learnt the suspects have not been able to secure legal rights to organise the T20 cricket competition in the US. Police have booked the suspects on charges of cheating and criminal breach of trust under the Indian Penal Code.