A Bengaluru man has filed a police complaint after losing more than Rs 80 lakh to an alleged online trading scam.
The FIR states that the complainant, who maintained an account with ICICI Bank, came into contact with Aastha Credit & Securities Pvt. Ltd. through the internet, where he was introduced to individuals identified as Aarav Gupta and Meena Joshi.
The trouble began on September 17, when an unknown person added him to a WhatsApp group named "9015 Aastha VIP Moksha Circle". The group members promoted an app called ACS Trade, claiming it generated significant profits through stock trading.
Trusting their claims, the complainant downloaded the application and began transferring money in phases. According to the police report, he initially sent Rs 34,55,492, followed by another Rs 21,80,000 through online transactions.
When he later attempted to withdraw his supposed earnings, he was told to make additional payments under the pretext of fees, which led him to transfer an additional Rs 23,72,594.
Altogether, the complainant transferred Rs 80,11,486 to several bank accounts provided by people he never met in person. However, neither the invested amount nor the promised dividends were returned.
Police have opened a case and begun investigating the fraudulent trading network.
