Indian businessman loses over $7 million in an online gambling scam
An Indian businessman based in Nagpur was recently scammed by a person that posed as a bookie to steal his life’s fortune. The scammer was identified as Anant that was using the alias of Sontu Navratan Jain.
Scammer faked an online gambling platform to steal Rs 58 crore
The businessman was approached by Jain who persuaded him to try out online gaming. He claimed that this new avenue might bring solid profits. While he was initially hesitant, the businessman eventually agreed to try it out over the claims of easy money. He first transferred 8 lakhs INR to the scammer’s account through a hawala merchant.
After this, a WhatsApp link was sent to the victim that took him to an online gambling account, which showed 8 lakh INR in balance. The businessman was winning initially but eventually started losing his fortune. Over time, he won 5 crore INR but lost a whopping 58 crore INR. He found this situation suspicious and urged Jain to refund his entire losses, who denied to do so. Thus, the man from Nagpur turned to the cyber police, registering the case under the Indian Penal Code.
The police found Jain’s residence and raided it, but the scammer managed to escape ahead of time. He is believed to have left for Dubai at the moment. Although, his residence was found with over 14 crore INR in cash along with 4 kilograms of gold and more than 200 kilograms of silver.