Pune: Online fraudsters cheated a Hinjewadi-based businessman of Rs5 crore between Jan 12 and 21 last year after promising handsome returns on his investment in a company allegedly based in Ahmedabad.The 50-year-old victim approached the police last week. After verification of his complaint, a formal FIR was registered on Friday at the Pimpri-Chinchwad police cyber police station.The police said the suspects floated an investment plan under the guise of a fake commercial entity and claimed that the company was doing good business in various parts of the country. They told the victim that there was a potential of high profit if he invested in the firm. The fraudsters promised him a minimum monthly return of 6% and an annual return of 16%.The victim, who runs a firm in Hinjewadi, told the police that he received calls from the fraudsters claiming to be managers and executives of the Ahmedabad-based company. They claimed to be operating from Ahmedabad, Indore and Kolkata, and narrated the company’s profile to him in detail, the police said. The suspects later shared their investment plans with the victim through a messaging application.The police said the victim reviewed the plan and decided to invest in it. The fraudsters shared two bank account numbers, and the victim transferred Rs5 crore to them between Jan 12 and 21, 2025.When the victim did not receive the promised monthly or annual returns, he repeatedly dialled the phone numbers mentioned in the investment documents and tried to contact the company in Ahmedabad. He later realised that no such company existed and approached the police.
