Navi Mumbai police book 2 for iridium investment fraud

Navi Mumbai police booked two men over an alleged unregistered iridium investment scam that lured 500 investors with promises of returns up to ₹28 crore.

NAVI MUMBAI: Navi Mumbai police registered a case on Wednesday against two men for allegedly running an unregistered investment scheme named ‘Iridium Particles’ that promised returns of up to ₹28 crore on investments as low as ₹2 lakh. The police said around 500 investors had fallen prey to this scheme.

Navi Mumbai police book 2 for iridium investment fraud

The suspected fraud came to light after the Economic Intelligence Cell of Navi Mumbai police was tipped off that some individuals were allegedly soliciting investments by promising disproportionate returns from the purported sale of iridium particles. An officer, Suraj Kiran Gore, was authorised to pose as a prospective investor to verify the information.

According to the FIR, Gore contacted an agent, Jayant Oak, through an informant. Oak arranged a meeting with a certain Tirthankar Sengupta at a hotel in Turbhe on October 13.

In the meeting, Sengupta allegedly claimed that they had discovered iridium along the West Bengal-Bangladesh border and that five custodians, including him, were entitled to half of ₹3.34 lakh crore received from its sale to Germany.

The decoy investor was told that investing ₹5 lakh in the scheme would yield ₹9- ₹28 crore by the end of November 2026. Gore expressed his willingness to invest ₹5 lakh, paid Sengupta ₹1 lakh in cash as an advance, and audio-recorded the conversation.

He then filed a complaint stating that the accused claimed around 500 people had invested in the scheme, with each contributing an average of ₹4 lakh to ₹5 lakh. It also stated that the accused had been collecting deposits since 2018 but had not paid the promised returns or returned the principal amount to the investors. However, they continued seeking investments by promising that the money would be released in November 2026.

Based on this complaint, Navi Mumbai police registered an FIR against Oak and Sengupta under sections 318 (4) and 316 (5) of the BNS and sections 3, 5, 21 and 23 of the Banning of Unregulated Deposit Schemes Act, 2019.