Palarivattom police arrested two persons on charges of duping many to the tune of Rs. 8 crore after promising huge returns for their investment through trading in the foreign currency market. Antony Devassy, 36, of Cherthala, and Jayakuttan, 38, of Kumbalam were operating Wismore Trading and Investment Consultancy at Chakkaraparambu since June 2011.
The duo promised 10 to 15 per cent interest for investments made in foreign currency trade. The arrests were made on the basis of complaints by Roy Mammen of Elamakkara, who lost Rs. 67 lakh and Vinod of Edappally, who lost Rs. 40 lakh. Preliminary investigations showed that the duo had cheated nearly 60 persons of nearly Rs. 8 crore.
Both the accused had only primary education and had the experience of handling small scale investments in share trading. They earned the confidence of investors by returning the promised money during the initial stages. Police said they have got complaints from nearly 20 people who have been cheated.
The accused used to invest in currency trading through another company named Wismore Trading FZC in the United Arab Emirates. This was done to bypass the regulations on foreign currency trading by the Reserve Bank of India and the accused had no authorisation to conduct such transactions.
However, they used to give cheques for the amount invested along with the agreement between the company and investors. The accused then converted the invested money into dollars and traded it against the euro.
The investors were lured into the scheme by convincing them of instant profits due to the difference between the dollar and the euro. The accused were remanded in judicial custody.
