A Mumbai-based businessman wanted by the Central Bureau of Investigation in connection with foreign exchange scam and who was on the run for 24 years was finally arrested by the officials in Bangalore on Friday.
A team of CBI officials from Delhi unit tracked him down to Bangalore with the help of Facebook.
He had taken shelter at his relative's house. Though sources in the CBI Bangalore confirmed the arrest, they refused to divulge any information, citing that the case was being handled by their Delhi counterparts.
The accused, Dipak Poddar, allegedly committed foreign exchange fraud to a tune of nearly Rs. 67.15 lakh between 1985 and 1989 and had purportedly been on the run since then. The CBI had filed a charge sheet against Poddar under criminal conspiracy, cheating, forgery and other offences on December 30, 1996.
The CBI officials who created a Facebook account, tracked him down with the help of his Facebook contacts before nailing him down at his relative's house.
He has been accused by the agency of remitting foreign exchange worth Rs. 67.15 Lakh by using forged bills of landing in the account of his firms without any genuine trade transaction as no material was imported into India during the period 1985-89. “The said accused could not be traced during investigation and pending trail.”
