Sambalpur man arrested for Rs 50 crore investment fraud

Sambalpur: Sambalpur police on Thursday arrested a 36-year-old man for allegedly running a fraudulent investment scheme that duped investors of nearly Rs 50 crore.The accused, Madhusudan Barai, of Chandan Nagar under Khetrajpur police station limits, had been operating an agency named A&A Enterprises Investment Returns from an office near NSCB College Chowk here.Briefing media on Thursday afternoon, Sambalpur SP said Barai lured people by promising unusually high returns and collected money from people across Sambalpur and nearby areas. The case came to light after complainant Rajkumar Panda and several others approached Sadar police on Nov 21 alleging that they had been cheated. Investigators later identified 47 investors, who had deposited funds with the agency based on false promises.Police said Barai executed fabricated agreement-cum-acknowledgement papers to gain trust and received funds running into several crores through cheques, cash deposits and online transfers. Though he initially paid small profits to maintain credibility, he stopped returning both the invested amounts and the promised returns, continuing to mislead victims with false assurances.During a raid on his office, police seized a smartphone, multiple CPUs, LED monitors, keyboards, a printer and other electronic equipment. The accused’s bank accounts, financial transactions and properties are now under scrutiny.SP (Sambalpur) Mukesh Bhamoo in a press briefing, said, “It was an investment fraud of Rs 50 crore. Initially, we have verified transactions of Rs 20 crore. Most of the money the accused has received in the form of cash and some transactions have taken place in his personal account. The victims are his friends, business personnel and even govt employees.” A case has been registered under relevant Sections of the BNS read with Section 6 of the OPID Act.