Chhattisgarh Man Arrested for ₹34.17 Lakh Fraud Involving Retired Army Officer in Fake Investment Scheme
Uttarakhand Police have apprehended a 35-year-old individual from the Durg district in Chhattisgarh on charges of defrauding a retired Army Medical Corps Subedar Major of ₹34.17 lakh through a deceitful foreign investment scheme.
The accused, named Har Vilas Nandi, is suspected to be the ringleader of a global cybercrime syndicate, as reported by the cyber cell of Uttarakhand Police. Authorities confiscated foreign currency from the UAE, Oman, and the USA, as well as an Aadhaar card, PAN card, ATM card, UAE resident card, and a mobile phone from Nandi.
Further investigations revealed that Nandi had resided in Dubai for a decade, with his Facebook and email accounts established there. His email ID, affiliated with his bank account, was operated from the Philippines, and the defrauded funds were traced back to his account before being withdrawn in Dubai. According to SSP (STF) Navneet Singh Bhullar, Nandi’s account experienced over ₹3.46 crore in transactions within a month and was connected to at least 37 cybercrime complaints across the nation. He allegedly compensated Chhattisgarh laborers between ₹50,000 and ₹1 lakh for their bank accounts, which he later used for illicit transfers.
Nandi had been evading capture for an extended period, hiding in the Naxal-affected Dantewada region. He was eventually located through technical surveillance, apprehended in Bhilai, and transferred to Dehradun on transit remand.
The case originated in 2024 when the retired Subedar Major filed a complaint, claiming he was scammed by a bogus foreign investment firm, Apollo India Private Equity (IV) (Mauritius) Ltd, which he discovered on Facebook. The victim was contacted by a woman impersonating a trading assistant and a man posing as a customer service manager, who ultimately convinced him to make several investments.
A supposed mentor named “John Peter Hussain” even conducted trading sessions to build the victim’s trust. Through collaboration with banks, service providers, and Meta, investigators identified Nandi as the primary suspect, revealing that the fraud had international operations extending to Dubai and the Philippines.
Police state that this arrest represents a significant advancement in combating organized cybercrime networks that target ex-servicemen and other susceptible individuals across India.
