₹ 22,000 Crore online trading scam unearthed in Assam, two arrested

In what may turn out to be the biggest cyber financial fraud in recent times in India, Assam police on Sep 4 unearthed a financial scam of ₹ 22,000 crore involving brokers who made fraudulent online stock market investments by claiming to double the money of unsuspecting investors.

Two accused persons identified as Vishal Phukan, a 22-year-old online trader from Dibrugarh, and Swapnil Das from Guwahati have been arrested in the massive scam. Police have launched a manhunt to arrest many other people involved in the scam, according to media reports.

Phukan lured people to invest promising his investors a 30% return on their investments in two months. He had set up four fake companies, invested in the Assamese film industry and acquired properties worth crores, according to media reports.

Police seized documents linked to the multi-crore scam in a raid at Phukan’s house in Dibrugarh. They are also searching for Assamese choreographer Sumi Borah, who is reportedly connected to Phukan's network.

Alarmed by the unearthing of the massive financial scam, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Sep 4 urged people to avoid fraudulent online stock market investments asserting that claims of doubling money with minimal effort are usually fraudulent.

“Fraudsters are misleading the people. There is no such system of investing money in the stock market through these online trading firms. I urge the people to stay away from fraudsters,” Sarma said.

“Police have registered cases against the illegal brokers. We will try to bust the entire racket in the state. Police have launched a crackdown on illegal online trading in the state,” he added.

Several online trading firms were doing business in Assam without following SEBI or RBI guidelines, reports said.