₹400 Crore DB Stock Trading Fraud: ED Attaches Assets Worth ₹13.41 Crore From Deepankar Barman

Guwahati: The Directorate of Enforcement (ED) has provisionally attached properties worth ₹13.41 crore in connection with an alleged large-scale investment fraud linked to DB Stock Consultancy and its proprietor Deepankar Barman.

Officials said the attachment order was issued by the ED’s Guwahati Zonal Office under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 as part of an ongoing investigation into the alleged Ponzi-style deposit scheme.

The investigation began after an FIR was registered at Paltan Bazar Police Station in Guwahati on August 21, 2024. The case was later taken over by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), which re-registered it in October 2024 under various provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 and the Banning of Unregulated Deposit Schemes Act, 2019.

According to investigators, DB Stock Consultancy allegedly ran an unregulated deposit scheme from Guwahati between 2021 and August 2024. The firm offered unusually high returns to investors under several schemes, promising profits ranging from 1.25 per cent per week to as much as 120 per cent annually.

The schemes were promoted through events at educational institutions, social media groups and personal referrals. Investigators said around 15,507 investors from different parts of the country were persuaded to deposit money with the firm, and the total collection is estimated to be about ₹400.14 crore.

Officials said the firm functioned like a typical Ponzi operation, where returns paid to earlier investors came from the funds deposited by newer investors. The company had no sustainable business activity capable of generating the high returns it promised.

The investigation also found that the firm was neither registered as a non-banking financial company nor authorised by the Reserve Bank of India to accept deposits from the public. The operation was therefore in violation of provisions of the RBI Act as well as the Banning of Unregulated Deposit Schemes Act.

Authorities said the scheme collapsed in August 2024 after fresh deposits declined and the firm could no longer pay investors. Deepankar Barman allegedly went absconding on August 18, 2024 when complaints from investors started mounting.

He was later arrested from Goa in October 2024 after a search operation and brought to Assam. At present, he is lodged in Guwahati Central Jail and has not been released on bail.

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The properties attached by the ED include immovable assets worth about ₹8.71 crore and movable assets worth around ₹4.70 crore. The immovable properties include 13 flats, land parcels and office spaces located in Guwahati, Hyderabad and Visakhapatnam.

The movable assets include 27 bank accounts with balances amounting to about ₹4.04 crore, along with mutual fund and equity investments worth ₹66 lakh.

The CBI has already filed multiple charge sheets in the case. Apart from Deepankar Barman, the investigation has also named his parents Chabin Barman and Deepali Talukdar Barman, associate Monalisha Das and several others. Officials are also examining the alleged role of financial intermediaries in the case.

Investigations into the money trail and the extent of the alleged fraud are continuing.