A 70-year-old chartered accountant from Gwalior, Madhya Pradesh, allegedly lost more than Rs 21 crore in a cyber fraud after being lured into investing in a fake high-return scheme, police said.
The victim filed a complaint with the cybercrime unit after discovering the alleged fraud. Police have launched an investigation and have frozen around Rs 1.75 crore while tracing the bank accounts that received the funds.
According to police, the fraud began in late December 2025 when the victim was contacted on WhatsApp by a person posing as an investment adviser. The fraudsters initially built trust by showing returns on small investments before directing the victim to a fake online investment platform that displayed fabricated profits.
Believing the returns to be genuine, the man allegedly invested more than Rs 21 crore over the next six months. When he attempted to withdraw the money, the suspects reportedly delayed the process with various excuses and later demanded several crore rupees more to release the funds.
Police said the victim transferred the money through more than 100 transactions from four bank accounts.
The cybercrime unit is tracing the flow of funds and working to identify those involved. Further investigation is underway.
