Bhubaneswar: The Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of Odisha Police has arrested the prime accused in a major investment fraud involving bogus share trading operations and alleged misappropriation of more than ₹40 crore.
The accused, identified as Amit Mandal of Bankura district in West Bengal, was apprehended on December 31, EOW officials said on Friday. He was produced before a local court in Bankura and subsequently brought to Odisha on transit remand. Mandal was produced before the designated court under the Odisha Protection of Interests of Depositors (OPID) Act and the special EOW court in Cuttack on January 2.
The case was registered on the basis of a complaint filed by Sushant Kumar Das of Khurda district, who alleged that Mandal and his associates induced him to invest ₹8.5 lakh between 2022 and 2024 for share trading by promising monthly returns ranging from 3.5 per cent to 7 per cent. To gain the confidence of investors, Mandal reportedly executed written agreements and issued post-dated cheques. While initial payments were made, the returns soon stopped and the accused went absconding.
During the investigation, the EOW found that Mandal operated under the name of a non-existent entity called ‘Kalpana Financial Services’ and later claimed to run a firm named Kalpamit Consultancy Private Limited. He and his Odisha-based agents allegedly organised meetings in hotels in Angul and Bhubaneswar to lure investors. Between 2020 and 2024, Mandal is accused of collecting more than ₹120 crore from around 500 investors in Odisha and about 100 investors in West Bengal, with unpaid dues exceeding ₹40 crore.
The agency described the operation as a classic Ponzi scheme, in which early investors were paid returns using money collected from new depositors. When payouts stopped in 2023, Mandal allegedly misled investors by claiming that their funds would be reinvested through a new company before disappearing.
Investigators traced the money trail primarily to Mandal’s personal accounts with ICICI and HDFC banks. One ICICI account alone recorded transactions of nearly ₹122 crore. Funds were also routed through accounts linked to Kalpamit Consultancy and Mandal’s associates. A laptop seized from the accused is believed to contain crucial details of investors and financial transactions.
The case has been registered under various sections of the Indian Penal Code relating to criminal breach of trust, cheating, forgery and criminal conspiracy, along with provisions of the Banning of Unregulated Deposit Schemes Act and the Information Technology Act. Further investigation is underway, the EOW said.
