Three arrested for cheating borrowers in loan fraud

They operated from a rented bungalow on ECR and employed Hindi and English speakers. They offered loans of over ₹100 cr., received a hefty interest in advance and became incommunicados

The Entrustment Document Fraud (EDF) Wing of the Central Crime Branch has unearthed a loan racket with the arrest of a three-member gang on Wednesday. The three were operating from a bungalow on East Coast Road (ECR) and cheated big firms in Nagpur, Mumbai and Delhi by offering loans of ₹100 crore and above.

The names of the arrested were given as S. Panneerselvam, 43, of Puthagaram, Imthias Ahamed alias Sathishkumar, 37, of Kondithope and Pavan Kumar alias Ravi alias Niyamuthullah, 45, of Nandambakkam. They were arrested on a complaint from Shyamal Chatterji, 39, who runs a firm called Galaxy Solar Energy Pvt. Ltd. They are suspected to be part of a bigger gang of over 12 persons.

Mr. Chatterji was approached by “employees” of East Coast Properties, a fictitious firm claiming to be a non-banking financial firm operating from Saibaba Colony, Injambakkam. They convinced Mr. Chatterji that they could give ₹100 crore loan for the expansion of his firm and asked him to pay ₹4 crore as advance interest for six months.

He transferred ₹3.5 crore and paid ₹50 lakh in cash. After receiving the money, the gang became incommunicado.

Mr. Chatterji lodged a complaint with the Commissioner of Police.

Explaining the modus operandi of the gang, a police officer said the gang engaged people fluent in Hindi and English and randomly called owners or representatives of firms in north India that required funds. They invited their targets to the bungalow, which had been rented. They introduced Paneerselvam as the head of the firm. Later, after bargaining on an interest rate, the gang pretended to be ready to give the loan and would send their men to ascertain the value of the property by flight at the cost of the prospective borrower. After receiving the interest amount in advance, they close shop and become incommunicado.