A 30-year-old advocate was duped of more than ₹ 33 lakh by a group of fraudsters who first approached him to buy his old currency and antique decoration pieces and later lured him into investing in an old-currency trading business using a fake licence purportedly issued by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).
They asked him to share photographs of the old currency and coins in his possession, promising to pay him a good price. The fraudsters then changed tack and persuaded the advocate to invest in the trading of old currency, antique pieces and coins. To win his confidence, they provided him with a licence purportedly authorising the business and claiming it had been issued by the RBI. During the inquiry, police found that the phone numbers and identities provided by the victim were linked to forged identification documents. Investigators also found that the money had been routed through mule bank accounts allegedly used to receive funds from the victim.
After examining the photographs, the accused told him that they were ready to pay ₹ 36 lakh for the old currency and coins.
The fraudsters initially contacted the victim claiming to represent a Mumbai-based firm dealing in old currency and antique pieces, according to the inquiry report.
