Maharashtra man loses 58 crore in online gambling after winning ₹ 5 crore

Nagpur: Police recovered ₹ 14 crore cash along with four kg of gold biscuits on Saturday probing a suspected online gaming bookie after a businessman from Nagpur lost staggering ₹ 58 crore in online gambling.

The accused, identified as Anant alias Sontu Navratan Jain, fled just before police raided his residence in Gondia City, 160 km away from Nagpur. Police suspect he has escaped to Dubai, the officer said.

"Prima facie, Jain had convinced the complainant- a businessman- to explore online gambling as a lucrative avenue for earning profits. Initially hesitant, the businessman eventually succumbed to Jain's persuasion and transferred ₹ 8 lakh through a hawala merchant," said Nagpur Commissioner of Police Amitesh Kumar.

Jain provided the businessman with a link on WhatsApp to open an online gambling account. The businessman found ₹ 8 lakh deposited in the account and he began gambling, Kumar said.

"After initial success, the businessman's fortunes took a drastic downturn as he lost a whopping ₹ 58 crore while winning around ₹ 5 crore," the police commissioner said.

He said the businessman grew suspicious as he lost and demanded his money back, but Jain refused.

"The businessman lodged a complaint with the cyber police, leading to the registration of a case of fraud under the Indian Penal Code. Police raided Jain's residence in Gondia. The operation resulted in the seizure of a substantial amount of evidence, including ₹ 14 crore cash and four kg gold biscuits," Kumar added.

The large quantity of cash is being counted and the final figure of seizure is yet to be arrived at.

PTI with superficial edits