Mumbai: The Kasturba police have booked the director of a crypto trading firm and five of his colleagues after an investor alleged that they duped him and his friends of Rs 62 lakh on the pretext of an investment scam.
Sameer Jariwala, 50, a Borivali resident, who runs a tours and travel company, pegged the scam at Rs 200 crore. He claimed that like him and his friends, many others were cheated by Ravi Mahasheth, the main accused and director of Samruddhi Multi Trade Pvt Ltd and Smart X. However, the police are yet to confirm the exact amount lost in the fraud.
According to the FIR filed on February 19, Jariwala came to know about Mahasheth through his friend Mahesh Vichare in May 2020. According to the former, the latter claimed that he had invested through Mahasheth’s company, located in Malad East, and earned profits ranging from 5% to 20%. Jariwala alleged Vichare that further convinced him, saying several others had earned lakhs through similar investments.
The complainant said that though he agreed to invest, he questioned why Mahasheth accepted cash instead of bank transfers. The accused explained that digital currency transactions were not processed in India and assured Jariwala that he would be given a login ID to manage his investments. Mahasheth also promised significant profits and claimed that his company would become a leading Bitcoin firm in the future.
In September 2022, Mahasheth’s cashier, Aadity Chaudhary, who has been named in the FIR, allegedly collected Rs 12 lakh from Jariwala. A few days later, he again took Rs 12 lakh, after which Jariwala's several friends made 'investments' amounting to Rs 62 lakh, said the FIR. After initial returns, the accused started to default on profits and Jariwala waited in hope that things will be back on track soon.
The complainant has alleged that Mahasheth and his associates defrauded numerous individuals, with the total scam amounting to around Rs 200 crore, said the cop. However, the exact details will only be confirmed after a thorough investigation, he added. The others named in the case are Abhishek Shahu, Akshay Kadam, Bhavin Chauhan and Rajiv Singh.
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