MBA student in Nagpur loses Rs 23 lakh to cryptocurrency investment fraud

Nagpur: A 28-year-old man pursuing MBA course from a college in Maharashtra's Nagpur city has allegedly been duped of Rs 23 lakh after being promised lucrative returns in cryptocurrency investments, police said.

A fraudster, posing as an investment advisor, approached the student via Telegram messaging platform on November 17, 2023, an official from Wathoda police station said on Tuesday.

The person lured the student, hailing from Hooghly in West Bengal, to invest in a cryptocurrency scheme while promising him good returns.

The student initially deposited Rs 1,000 into a bank account specified by the person and received Rs 1,400 in return, thereby reinforcing his belief in the scheme, the official said.

Later, over a period of time, the student ended up depositing a total of Rs 23 lakh into the account, hoping to get profits as promised.

However, he neither received the promised returns nor was he able to retrieve the invested amount, the official said.

Based on the student's complaint, the Wathoda police on Tuesday registered a case under relevant provisions of the Indian Penal Code and the Information Technology Act and were conducting a probe into it, he added.