AHMEDABAD: An 81-year-old man from the Ellisbridge area has filed a complaint against an unknown ‘woman from Singapore’ who lured him with a wine business proposal and spirited away Rs 34 lakh from him.
Mahendra Gandhi, a resident of Jain Society, filed his complaint with the cybercrime police on Tuesday.
Among other businesses, he has showrooms for readymade garments.
Gandhi said that he had received a WhatsApp message on June 3 from someone who self-identified as Elina from Singapore.
As they began chatting, the woman told Gandhi that she was a wine analyst.
She said she could help him make whopping profits if he invested in the wine business.
Gandhi agreed to her proposal and she sent him a link, telling him to fill up basic details such as bank account and cellphone numbers.
Gandhi said in his FIR that his staffer filled up the details on June 7 and after a while the woman told him to invest the money.
Gandhi first gave her Rs 1 lakh and she told him that he would get Rs 74,000 as profit.
Gandhi ended up depositing Rs 34 lakh in five online transactions.
In the end, he got no returns.
Later, the woman went incommunicado and Gandhi realized he was duped.
Police have registered a complaint of cheating, breach of trust, and criminal conspiracy.
They have also invoked the provisions of the IT Act.