Fraudsters misuse Thane man's identity to carry out illegal transactions of over Rs 383 cr

A case has been registered against three persons for allegedly defrauding an estate agent by carrying out illegal transactions of more than Rs 383 crore in his name in Maharashtra’s Thane district, police said on Monday.

The Kasarwadavli police registered a first information report (FIR) on Saturday based on a complaint by the 38-year-old man, who was allegedly unaware of the fraudulent activities till he started receiving notices from banks, an official said.

He said the complainant claimed the accused approached him with a job offer in May 2022 and took his identification documents, including his PAN and Aadhaar cards.

The trio allegedly used the complainant’s details to open two bank accounts and created fictitious shell companies, linking their mobile numbers and email addresses to the accounts, he said.

The official said the accused executed illegal financial transactions of more than Rs 383 crore till May 2023.

The complainant realised that his details were misused when he started receiving notices from banks, and he approached the Economic Offences Wing, he said.

While a case has been registered against the accused, Deepak Shukla, Rahul Patwa, and Chetan Khade, no arrests have been made, and the matter is under investigation, the official said.