PUNE – The Pimpri Chinchwad cybercrime police arrested Santosh Rupnar (40), a trader from Manjari, on Friday in connection with a Rs2.24 crore stock trading scam. The arrest was made after investigators traced Rs1 crore of the defrauded funds to a bank account registered in Rupnar’s name.
The victim, a 54-year-old accounts professional who recently returned to Pune after living abroad, filed a complaint after being duped between July and August. According to Senior Inspector Ravikiran Nale, the victim was lured into a fake investment scheme through a mobile messaging app, where he was added to a group of “investors.”
The fraudsters offered training and promised returns over 50%. To carry out the con, they convinced the victim to download a fake stock trading app, claiming it would help him monitor investments and returns. Over time, the victim invested Rs2.24 crore, including his savings and personal loans.
When he tried to withdraw his profits, the scammers manipulated him into transferring more funds under various pretexts. A deeper probe revealed that Rs1 crore had gone to Rupnar’s account, which was allegedly used as a mule account to funnel the fraud money. Rupnar was arrested and is now under investigation for his links to the primary fraud handlers.
Authorities also uncovered that the victim had transferred funds to over 10 different bank accounts, all currently under scrutiny.
