Businessman arrested from Bengal for Rs 40 crore investment fraud
Bhubaneswar: The economic offences wing (EOW) of the state crime branch on Friday arrested a businessman from West Bengal’s Bankura district for allegedly duping hundreds of investors in Odisha and Bengal of nearly Rs 40 crore by offering high returns from share trading.
The accused, identified as Amit Mandal, 36, was taken into custody following a cheating case registered on Dec 29, 2025, based on a complaint lodged by a victim from Khurda district. After being produced before a local court in Bankura, he was brought to Odisha on a transit remand for further investigation.
According to the complaint, Mandal and his associates lured investors by promising monthly returns ranging between 3.5% and 7%. To gain their confidence, he executed formal agreements and issued post-dated cheques. “The complainant in this case invested Rs 8.5 lakh between 2022 and 2024. Initially, some returns were paid, but payments stopped after a few months and Mandal absconded,” SP of EOW, Dilip Tripathy, said.
Investigations revealed that Mandal mobilised nearly Rs 120 crore from around 500 investors in Odisha and 100 in Bengal between 2020 and 2024. Of this, he refunded about Rs 80 crore, while the remaining money was allegedly misappropriated. Officials said Mandal and his agents organised investor meetings at hotels in Angul and Bhubaneswar to attract depositors. By 2023, he failed to deliver promised returns and assured depositors that their money would be reinvested in a newly floated company. However, he later went into hiding, leaving investors in the lurch.
“Scrutiny of one of his bank accounts revealed transactions worth Rs 122 crore during the four-year period. Several other accounts are under verification. We also seized a laptop suspected to contain details of investors and the amounts deposited,” Tripathy said.
EOW officers said that Mandal’s modus operandi involved using his personal accounts to collect deposits while falsely claiming to operate through another company. “Several unsuspecting people were lured by his fraudulent investment scheme. We urge investors to remain cautious and verify credentials before investing in schemes promising unusually high returns. Further investigation is underway to trace Mandal’s associates, uncover his assets and recover the defrauded money,” the SP said.
The accused, identified as Amit Mandal, 36, was taken into custody following a cheating case registered on Dec 29, 2025, based on a complaint lodged by a victim from Khurda district. After being produced before a local court in Bankura, he was brought to Odisha on a transit remand for further investigation.
According to the complaint, Mandal and his associates lured investors by promising monthly returns ranging between 3.5% and 7%. To gain their confidence, he executed formal agreements and issued post-dated cheques. “The complainant in this case invested Rs 8.5 lakh between 2022 and 2024. Initially, some returns were paid, but payments stopped after a few months and Mandal absconded,” SP of EOW, Dilip Tripathy, said.
Investigations revealed that Mandal mobilised nearly Rs 120 crore from around 500 investors in Odisha and 100 in Bengal between 2020 and 2024. Of this, he refunded about Rs 80 crore, while the remaining money was allegedly misappropriated. Officials said Mandal and his agents organised investor meetings at hotels in Angul and Bhubaneswar to attract depositors. By 2023, he failed to deliver promised returns and assured depositors that their money would be reinvested in a newly floated company. However, he later went into hiding, leaving investors in the lurch.
“Scrutiny of one of his bank accounts revealed transactions worth Rs 122 crore during the four-year period. Several other accounts are under verification. We also seized a laptop suspected to contain details of investors and the amounts deposited,” Tripathy said.
EOW officers said that Mandal’s modus operandi involved using his personal accounts to collect deposits while falsely claiming to operate through another company. “Several unsuspecting people were lured by his fraudulent investment scheme. We urge investors to remain cautious and verify credentials before investing in schemes promising unusually high returns. Further investigation is underway to trace Mandal’s associates, uncover his assets and recover the defrauded money,” the SP said.
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