Mumbai: The city’s cyber police have arrested Rajan Uttam Dage (26) and Ashwinkumar Gaikwad, two members of an online fraud racket that laundered over Rs4 crore through fake business accounts under the name “Natural Cosmetics.”
The duo is accused of opening mule accounts using forged documents and routing illicit funds received from victims across India over the past two months. Investigations revealed the accounts had no legitimate cosmetic business activity and instead saw high-value transactions and immediate withdrawals, a classic hallmark of fraud and laundering operations.
The accused first surfaced in an ongoing probe involving a 69-year-old retired banker, who was duped of Rs28 lakh by fraudsters posing as financial advisors from FXROAD.COM, a fake share trading platform.
According to police, the victim was initially contacted through Facebook, Telegram, email, and international phone calls. She first invested $200 (Rs17,517), and was later convinced to transfer a total of Rs27.59 lakh to various accounts after being falsely shown high profits.
One such transfer of Rs5 lakh was traced to the Natural Cosmetics account operated by Dage and a co-accused Suryakant, which had received a total of Rs4 crore from across India between April and August 2025.
The fraud ring used realistic presentations and fake portfolio reports to lure victims into depositing increasing sums. Only when they demanded further investments did the victim grow suspicious and file an FIR.
The suspects were traced through a money trail and digital footprint, and arrested from Powai, Mumbai. Officials confirmed the group had targeted victims nationwide, and further arrests are expected as the probe expands.
