Assam: 38 Arrested in Multi-Crore Online Trading Scam, CM Warns Against Fraudulent Schemes

GUWAHATI: Assam Police arrested 38 persons involved in an alleged multi-crore online trading scam case which had promised unrealistic returns to investors. The scam has rattled the state administration, and Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma warned people not to invest in such fraudulent schemes.

"There is no authentic way to double or triple your overnight investment," claimed Chief Minister Sarma. His call comes amidst increased crackdown by Assam Police against the kingpins of these illegal schemes that have been running in blatant defiance of SEBI and RBI regulations.

The racket came to light after the arrest of 22-year-old Bishal Phukan from Dibrugarh and Swapnanil Das from Guwahati. The two youths have been accused of running a financial scam that duped Rs 2,200 crore from investors across the state. Phukan, who allegedly invested the ill-gotten money to buy expensive cars and property, even owns a pharmaceutical company-Percelia Pharmaceutical.

Swapnanil Das, accomplice of Phukan and a resident of Sibsagar, was arrested from Guwahati. He had been masquerading as a successful entrepreneur. His main role was to act as the Chief Executive Officer of "Trader," the online trading platform through which he deceived people into parting with their savings. The shocking twist in the tale is that Das was operating a training institute for traders in Guwahati, thereby teaching young minds the art of trading even as he was allegedly concocting ways to defraud them.

This incident has cast a shadow over the state's budding entrepreneurship drive by highlighting how the unrestrained online trading portals fleece the dreams of mere commoners. Unraveling further into the case, the police have widened the umbrella of their probe by putting an Assamese actress and her husband in their suspected circle of involvement.

The call for caution by Chief Minister Sarma underlines the increasing alarm that such fraudulent schemes have set off in the state. He said, "Though the temptation of fast profits could be huge, the reality is grimmer. Investors should be cautious and not fall into the trap of online trading scams.".

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