From Easy Loans to Elaborate Lies: How a ₹2.45-Crore Finance Scam Unravelled With the Arrest of a Telangana MBA
In yet another reminder of how financial frauds and cyber-enabled confidence tricks are rising sharply across the country, the Gurgaon Police’s Economic Offences Wing (EOW) has cracked a sophisticated loan scam dating back to 2023.
The case revolves around a garment exporter who was promised cheap credit in his hour of need—only to be swindled out of ₹2.45 crore.
The EOW arrested Venam Raju (30), an MBA graduate from Telangana, marking the first breakthrough in a case that investigators believe may be part of a larger network of organised financial frauds operating across states.
A Business in Distress, a Trap Carefully Set
The victim, the owner of Orient Craft Sweaters Limited, was facing mounting financial stress in his garment business when the scam began unfolding in May 2023.
According to police, the initial contact came via a phone call on May 25 from one Tarun Manchanda, who claimed to have access to powerful financiers capable of arranging large loans at unusually low interest rates.
Manchanda soon introduced the businessman to two alleged associates—Vikram, said to be based in Haryana, and Nitin Garg from Hyderabad.
Within days, three men visited the victim’s office, confidently offering a loan of up to ₹100 crore at an interest rate of just 6%. To appear legitimate, they collected bank statements, buyer projections, and other sensitive financial documents.
The Hyderabad Stage Show
To seal the deal, the businessman was invited to Hyderabad. On May 31, he travelled there with Vikram and Nitin, who introduced him to Srinivas Kandola, projected as the key financier.
Police said Kandola played his role convincingly, showcasing documents and loan agreements purportedly worth up to ₹1,000 crore.
Two loan options were offered: a short-term loan of ₹2.5 crore and a long-term loan of ₹40 crore repayable over five to seven years at the same attractive 6% interest.
The hidden condition, police said, was that ₹2.5 crore had to be paid upfront as “advance interest” for the larger loan.
Building Trust Before the Big Betrayal
To deepen the victim’s trust, the fraudsters transferred ₹2.25 crore into his account between June 3 and June 6, 2023. This partial funding convinced him that the deal was genuine.
On June 15, during a meeting at a Hyderabad hotel, the victim transferred ₹4.70 crore via RTGS to accounts controlled by the accused. He was told the ₹40 crore loan would be credited within 15 minutes.
Instead, the accused quietly walked away—and never returned.
Complaint, Investigation, and a Long Trail
Realising he had been cheated, the businessman filed a complaint at the Sadar police station in Gurgaon. The case was later handed over to EOW-I, which began an intensive investigation involving technical surveillance, financial tracking, and intelligence gathering.
After months of work, the EOW team tracked down Venam Raju near Legend College at Kompally in Telangana’s Malkangiri district.
He was arrested on December 30, 2025, produced before a local court, and brought to Gurgaon on a four-day transit remand.
Confession and the Modus Operandi
According to a Gurgaon Police spokesperson, Raju admitted during preliminary questioning that he was part of the group that engineered the finance scam.
The gang’s method, police said, followed a familiar pattern now common in white-collar and cyber-assisted frauds—offer a small genuine transaction to build credibility, then lure the victim into transferring a much larger sum.
“About ₹50 lakh from the cheated amount was credited to Raju’s account as his share,” the spokesperson said.
What Lies Ahead
Raju will now be produced before a Gurgaon court for further police custody. Investigators aim to arrest the remaining absconding accused, recover siphoned funds, seize financial and digital records, and probe whether the same group is linked to similar frauds elsewhere.
A Growing National Concern
Police officials note that such loan-related frauds—often blended with cyber crime, forged documents, and interstate operations—have increased drastically in recent years.
Desperation for easy credit, coupled with digital payment systems and professional-looking scams, has made even seasoned businessmen vulnerable.
Authorities are urging entrepreneurs and individuals to verify financiers thoroughly, avoid upfront “interest” or “processing” payments, and report suspicious offers immediately.
#FinancialFraud #LoanScam #EconomicOffencesWing #CyberCrime #WhiteCollarCrime #GurgaonPolice #BusinessFraud #CrimeInvestigation #IndiaNews
