E-Paper
Fake medicine export deal bleeds Chandigarh man of ₹60 lakh
The victim, Sunil Kumar of Sector 32-C, was duped under the pretext of facilitating export of a cancer medicine, Avastin Powder, to an alleged US-based pharmaceutical company
Lured with a lucrative overseas medicine supply deal, a city-based businessman ended up getting duped of ₹60.65 lakh in an elaborate online fraud.
The victim, Sunil Kumar of Sector 32-C, was duped under the pretext of facilitating export of a cancer medicine, Avastin Powder, to an alleged US-based pharmaceutical company in exchange for a substantial profit.
According to the complaint filed with the cyber crime cell, Sunil was first contacted through Facebook by one Morris Pauline, who introduced him to a deal to supply 300-500 kg of Avastin Powder every month to Actelion Laboratory, USA. The deal appeared legitimate, with email communications initiated from actelionpharma01@yahoo.com and further coordination taking place over WhatsApp.
Sunil was directed to procure the medicine from a supplier named Sharma Enterprises based in Indore, Madhya Pradesh. He subsequently made an initial order of 50 kg by paying ₹13 lakh to bank accounts linked to the firm.
The fraud then unfolded gradually with a series of fabricated delays. Sunil was told that a truck transporting his consignment met with an accident and told to pay ₹10 lakh for logistics.
An additional ₹3.5 lakh was paid to Sharma Enterprises. To add authenticity, the accused even generated a fake USFDA certificate, for which Sunil paid a staggering ₹34.15 lakh to an agent posing as a regulatory official. A forged certificate was emailed to him on October 26, 2024.
As the final step of deception, Sunil was asked to pay for opening an offshore account to receive his payments. He paid 10,000 US dollars, ₹9.68 lakh for an IMF referral code and 4,000 US dollars for a deposit—bringing the total fraud amount to ₹60.65 lakh. The victim eventually realised he had been scammed and alerted the cyber cell, triggering a probe.
