A Promise Of CSR Funds And Rs 6.3 Crore Fraud By Fake Infosys Employees

When a man posing as a regional head of corporate social responsibility (CSR) at Infosys Limited approached Mysore Mercantile Company, offering a grant, little did the Karnataka-based firm know that they would end up losing Rs 6.3 crore in a financial fraud.

It all began with one Gagan N Deep initiating a meeting with agricultural products manufacturer, Mysore Mercantile Company Limited (MMCL), claiming to be a top executive at Infosys. Deep expressed interest in the activities of MMCL's associated trust, the Heggunje Rajeeva Shetty Charitable Trust, Bangalore.

To build trust, Deep sent a team of five representing Infosys to Udupi, Mangalore, and other places to verify the trust's activities. Deep then made MMCL pay an Earnest Money Deposit (EMD) to alleged regular vendors of Infosys as a condition for the approval of CSR grants. MMCL remitted a sum of Rs 6 crore. Additionally, a cash payment of Rs 30 lakh was made via a driver associated with the accused near the Nandi Upachar Hotel in Devanahalli.

According to the First Information Report (FIR), the accused issued a purported sanction letter dated October 21, 2025, allegedly from Infosys, and executed a grant agreement dated January 8, 2026 between Infosys and the charitable trust for the construction of more than 855 houses across Karnataka with a total grant of Rs 179 crore.

Another agreement dated January 13, 2026, was also executed for the construction of primary health care centres across the state with a total grant of Rs 178 crore.

The complainant later suspected that the representations made by the accused were false and the documents were fabricated. 

"Despite repeated follow-ups, neither has any grant materialised nor have the amounts been returned, and the accused is now unresponsive and deliberately avoiding communication," the FIR added.

The complainant, Sridhar from MMCL, has named four men, accusing them of orchestrating a large-scale scam between September 2025 and March 2026. The primary accused, identified as Gagan N Deep, was reportedly aided by co-accused Chethan, Thejas, and others.

Police have registered a case under multiple sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, including charges related to cheating, forgery, and criminal conspiracy. The investigation is currently underway.