Retired Mumbai Banker Duped of Rs 1.5 Crore in Fake Nirmala Sitharaman Video Scam
A 68-year-old retired bank manager in Mumbai was defrauded of Rs 1.5 crore in a cyber investment scam after clicking on a fake Facebook advertisement featuring Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman. The victim was lured into investing in foreign crude oil trading through a platform called 'Savexa' after fraudsters falsely claimed that the ongoing Iran-US conflict presented lucrative financial opportunities.
According to the complaint registered with the Maharashtra nodal cyber police station, the victim came across a video advertisement on Facebook. The video, which featured a depiction of Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, falsely claimed that a small investment of Rs 22,000 could generate massive returns of Rs 30 lakh within a month.
Following his interaction with the advertisement, the retired banker was contacted by individuals claiming to be representatives of an investment firm named Savexa. A man identifying himself as "Zain," who claimed to be a professional fund manager for the platform, took charge of communicating with the victim.
Zain used repeated Zoom video meetings and official-looking emails to build trust and persuade the retired banker to participate in the scheme. During these interactions, the fraudster argued that the geopolitical conflict between Iran and the United States had created a rare and highly profitable window for trading in foreign crude oil markets.
Convinced by the professional presentation and the false endorsement of the finance minister, the victim agreed to invest. Over a series of transactions, the retired bank manager transferred a total of Rs 1.5 crore to the fraudsters. The payments were processed through multiple Real Time Gross Settlement (RTGS) and Unified Payments Interface (UPI) transfers.
After realizing he had been duped of his life savings, the victim approached the authorities. The Maharashtra nodal cyber police station has registered the case based on the victim's complaint and is conducting further investigations into the fraudulent platform and the individuals involved.
