How low-interest loan pitch trapped a Gurgaon bizman in Rs 2.45-crore fraud

In a major breakthrough, the Gurgaon Police’s Economic Offences Wing (EOW) arrested an MBA graduate from Telangana in connection with a 2023 fraud case where a garment businessman was lured with promises of a low-interest loan and then duped of Rs 2.45 crore.

The victim, owner of Orient Craft Sweaters Limited, was struggling with financial difficulties in his garments business when the scam began unfolding in May 2023.

According to police, it started with a phone call on May 25 that year from one Tarun Manchanda, who claimed he had connections with a Haryana-based financier named Vikram and one Hyderabad-based Nitin Garg.

Two days later, police said three men arrived at the victim’s office, assuring a loan of up to Rs 100 crore at just 6% interest. They collected bank statements and buyer projections the next day.

Police said to seal the deal, the victim was invited to Hyderabad. On May 31, police said, he travelled there with Nitin and Vikram, who introduced him to one Srinivas Kandola.

Police said Kandola impressed him by displaying loan agreements worth up to Rs 1,000 crore and proposed two options: a short-term Rs 2.5 crore loan and a long-term Rs 40 crore loan over 5-7 years at 6% interest, police said.

The catch: Rs 2.5 crore had to be paid upfront as advance interest for the larger loan.

Between June 3 and 6, the fraudsters transferred Rs 2.25 crore into the victim’s account, deepening his trust.

On June 15, 2023, in a Hyderabad hotel meeting, the victim transferred Rs 4.70 crore via RTGS to their accounts.

Moments later, police said the group excused themselves, claiming the Rs 40 crore would be credited in 15 minutes, but they vanished instead.

The victim soon realised the deception and filed a complaint, leading to an FIR at the Sadar police station in Gurgaon. The case was handed over to the EOW-I.

After intensive technical probes and intelligence, the EOW team arrested one Venam Raju near Legend College at Kompally, in Malkangiri (Telangana) district, on December 30, 2025.

Raju (30) was produced before a Malkangiri court and taken on four-day transit remand.

“During preliminary questioning, Raju admitted to partnering with Kandola and the others in the finance ruse. They first extended a short-term loan to build credibility, then dangled the Rs 40 crore bait to extract Rs 2.45 crore as advance interest. Rs 50 lakh of the cheated amount landed in Raju’s account as his share,” a Gurgaon Police spokesperson said.

Post-transit remand, he will be presented before a Gurgaon court for further police custody, officials said.

He is the first accused to be nabbed in the case.

During his remand, the Gurgaon Police will aim to identify the remaining absconders, recover funds, seize documents and digital evidence, and investigate linked frauds, the spokesperson added.