Assam CBI files charge sheet in connection with online trade scam

New Delhi, Nov 29 (PTI) CBI has filed a chargesheet against Ranjit Kakoty’s tradingfx in connection with an alleged fraud of Rs 260 crore belonging to 1.5 lakh investors in one of the 41 e-trading scam cases in Assam, officials said on Friday.

The agency said Kakoty, who is in judicial custody, allegedly defrauded investors through misleading plan documents, false promises and other fraudulent practices intended to misappropriate their hard-earned money for personal enrichment.

“The CBI used advanced forensic tools to identify most of the investors who fell victim to the fraudulent scheme carried out by the accused through the online platform www.tradingfx.live,” the agency said in a statement.

This is one of the 41 investment scam cases in Assam that the CBI is investigating on the request of the state government, it said.

Kakoty was earlier detained by the Dibrugarh police on allegations that he and his associates promised naive investors a three-fold return within 18 months of their TradingFX investments, they said.

Later, he stopped returning the promised funds and became unresponsive, the FIR alleged.

“Since taking over the investigation into the Assam investment scam case, the CBI has expedited its investigation by conducting fresh searches at 93 locations in five states/UTs. These searches led to the seizure of mobile phones, desktop computers, hard drives and laptops. “During the course of investigation, the CBI successfully searched databases containing details of depositors who were deceived and tricked into investing in these unregulated deposit schemes,” the CBI said in a statement.

The CBI on Thursday also filed a charge sheet in another Dibrugarh-based e-commerce scam case against Bishal Phukan, Abhijit Chanda, actor Sumi Bora and Tapon alias Tarkik Bora, officials said.

It is alleged that the defendants took part in organizing an illegal deposit program under which funds were obtained from investors under false pretenses.

“They used fraudulent means, including notarized Treasury securities and falsified investment reports, to lure investors with the promise of a guaranteed 30 percent return. They defrauded investors and misappropriated deposits for their own benefits,” the agency said in a statement.