Sambalpur police on Thursday arrested a 36-year-old man for allegedly running a massive fraudulent investment scheme that cheated investors out of nearly Rs50 crore.
The accused, identified as Madhusudan Barai of Chandan Nagar under Khetrajpur police limits, had been operating a firm called A&A Enterprises Investment Returns from an office near NSCB College Chowk in Sambalpur.
According to Sambalpur SP, Barai attracted investors by promising unusually high returns and collected large sums from people across Sambalpur and neighbouring regions. The fraud came to light after complainant Rajkumar Panda and several others approached Sadar police on November 21, alleging they had been duped. Investigators have so far identified 47 victims who invested based on false assurances.
Police revealed that Barai issued fabricated agreement-cum-acknowledgement papers to build confidence and received crores through cheques, cash deposits, and online transfers. While he initially paid small profits to appear credible, he eventually stopped returning both the invested amounts and the promised returns, continuing to mislead the victims with repeated false assurances.
A raid on his office led to the seizure of a smartphone, multiple CPUs, LED monitors, keyboards, a printer, and other equipment. Authorities are now examining his bank accounts, financial records, and properties.
Briefing the media, SP Mukesh Bhamoo said, “It was an investment fraud of Rs50 crore. Initially, we have verified transactions of Rs20 crore. Most of the money the accused received was in cash, and some transactions occurred in his personal account. The victims include friends, business associates, and even government employees.” A case has been registered under relevant provisions of the BNS along with Section 6 of the OPID Act.
