Santosh Acharya, a 42-year-old resident of Mauli Nagar, Kuluthkani, has been apprehended by the Sambalpur police for his alleged involvement in a multicore investment scam.
Police IG Himanshu Lal and Sambalpur SP Mukesh Kumar Bhamoo addressed a press conference at the district police headquarters today and detailed the investment fraud case.
Acharya, claiming to be an authorized agent of MCXCT, had been running a fraudulent investment scheme since 2013, luring over 500 investors with promises of high and assured returns.
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The scam came to light when Acharya stopped providing periodic returns to investors in February 2024, citing financial constraints. This raised suspicions among the investors, who later filed complaints against him. The estimated amount of fraud is believed to be in the hundreds of crores, with investors demanding the return of their principal amounts.
Police arrested Acharya on February 25, 2025, and during his remand period, extracted vital evidence from him. Searches of his house and office, conducted in the presence of an executive magistrate, revealed multiple suspicious transactions. Authorities also froze 58 bank accounts with transactions totaling Rs 81.20 lakhs.
Among the items seized from Acharya were a mobile phone, documents related to investor deposits, a computer system, two cash counting machines, canceled checks from various banks, and several other banking documents.
The arrest and subsequent investigation highlight the importance of vigilance and due diligence when investing in schemes that promise unusually high returns.
