KOLKATA: Industrialist Pawan Ruia, once celebrated as the "turnaround tycoon," is now under scrutiny in a significant cyber fraud case involving ₹317 crore. The Cyber Crime Wing of the Bengal Police conducted raids on Ruia's residence and offices last Thursday, following the registration of a suo motu FIR on November 5. The case emerged from an investigation into a complaint filed in April 2024 by a New Town senior citizen who was allegedly defrauded of ₹93 lakh.

The investigation revealed a widespread racket where approximately ₹317 crore was siphoned from 1,379 victims across West Bengal and other parts of India. These defrauded funds were allegedly routed through numerous bank accounts associated with 148 shell companies before being moved to mule accounts. A significant portion of the funds, initially estimated at ₹170 crore, was reportedly converted into cryptocurrency in an attempt to evade detection and freezing by law enforcement agencies.

The FIR indicates that the shell companies linked to Ruia have 11 directors who are also part of the boards of 186 companies throughout India. On November 6, cybercrime teams raided multiple locations, including Ruia Centre, Dunlop Industrial Products Pvt Ltd, and Ruia's residence in Ballygunge.

Police sources have identified Pawan Kumar Ruia, along with Sarita Ruia, Raghav Ruia, Pallavi Ruia, and Sakshi Ruia, as beneficiaries of the alleged crime proceeds. According to the police, funds from at least 23 reported cyber fraud incidents have been directly traced to bank accounts held by members of the Ruia family.

The investigation initially stemmed from a complaint filed by Swapan Kumar Mandal, who alleged that he was lured into investing in a firm called KKRMF with promises of high returns. After being convinced by the firm's online presence and initial returns, Mandal invested ₹93 lakh before being denied access to his funds due to purported SEBI-related issues.

Further investigation revealed that proceeds from a cybercrime case landed in an account linked to Hughli Machineries Pvt Ltd and were subsequently transferred twice to other accounts belonging to the same company. This financial trail led investigators to uncover a network of 16 beneficiary firms with 11 common directors. Physical verification of the registered addresses of 73 of these companies revealed that no such offices existed.

According to the National Crime Reporting Portal (NCRP), there were 1,379 complaints registered against the accounts of the shell companies as of October 31, with over a hundred of these complaints originating from Bengal.

Pawan Ruia was previously arrested in 2016 for the alleged theft of railway equipment from the Jessop factory. The Bengal government had also attempted to take over his non-functional Jessop and Dunlop companies.

Authorities are continuing their investigation into the complex network of shell companies and financial transactions to uncover the full extent of the cyber fraud and the involvement of those connected. Attempts to reach Ruia for comment have been unsuccessful.