MUMBAI: A 65-year-old film and television actor was cheated of ₹1.60 crore in an online forex trading scam after being lured by a woman he befriended on social media, who later threatened him with a fabricated money-laundering case when he tried to withdraw the funds.
According to the police, the actor, who lives in an apartment on Link Road in Andheri West, was contacted in November by a woman identifying herself as Deepti Malhotra. The two started chatting online and, over time, became friends. She claimed to be running a garment business while earning substantial profits through foreign exchange (forex) trading.
“To gain his trust, Malhotra shared screenshots purportedly showing high returns from her forex investments and encouraged the actor to invest as well. She then sent him a link to an application and asked him to create a profile and begin trading through it,” said a Cyber Police officer.
Believing the claims, the actor invested a total of ₹1.60 crore through the application. Over time, the app displayed a balance of ₹2.51 crore, reflecting significant profits. However, a few days ago, when the actor attempted to withdraw a portion of the amount, the transaction failed, the officer added.
The police said that when he complained about it on the platform, he was sent a photograph of a man reportedly arrested by the police. “He was told that the arrested man was carrying cash meant for him, but was caught because the money was illicit. The accused then demanded ₹50 lakh and threatened that the actor would be booked for money laundering if he did not pay,” the officer added.
The actor then consulted and confided in a friend, who told him that he had been duped. Following this, the actor approached the cyber police. Based on his complaint, the cyber police have registered a case against unknown persons under sections 318 (cheating), 319 (cheating by personation), 336 (forgery), 338 (forgery of valuable security) and 340 (using forged documents or electronic records as genuine) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.