Bizman Pawan Ruia arrested in Rs 317 crore cyber fraud

Kolkata: The Cyber Crime Wing (CCW) of the state police on Tuesday arrested industrialist Pawan Ruia from New Town in connection with a cyber fraud case involving around Rs 317 crore, shortly after the Calcutta High Court vacated the interim protection earlier granted to him and his family.

Ruia is scheduled to be produced before the Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate’s (ACJM) court in Bidhannagar on Wednesday.

According to CCW officials, the case stems from a complaint lodged on April 3, 2024, by Swapan Kumar Mandal at the Bidhannagar Cyber Crime Police Station. Mandal alleged that he was approached in November 2023 by a firm named KKRMF through messages promising high returns on share investments. After verifying the firm’s online presence, he began investing in phases. The firm allegedly built trust by offering returns and allowing partial withdrawals, before adding him to a WhatsApp group where messages showcasing large profits encouraged further investment.

By January 2024, Mandal had invested over Rs 93 lakh, after which he was informed of purported regulatory issues linked to SEBI and was denied access to his funds.

Based on the complaint, a case was registered under Sections 419 (fraud), 420 (cheating), 406 (criminal breach of trust), and 120B (criminal conspiracy) of the IPC. The investigation was later taken over by the CCW, which uncovered a wider network of fraud involving 1,379 complaints on the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal (NCRP) across the country, including West Bengal, with a total alleged siphoning of around Rs 317 crore.

Investigators said the racket used cryptocurrencies to conceal transactions and launder proceeds to foreign countries. The funds were allegedly routed through corporate current accounts of 148 shell companies. Earlier, the CCW had arrested Rahul Verma, a Delhi resident, on November 1 at Delhi Airport while he was attempting to leave for London.

Police said Ruia’s arrest followed a Calcutta High Court order on Tuesday by Justice Saugata Bhattacharyya vacating the interim protection granted earlier to him and his family in connection with the case. The court, while disposing of a writ petition, held that no further orders were required and vacated the interim relief, leaving the petitioners at liberty to take steps in accordance with law in the pending criminal proceedings.

The court also recorded that two criminal cases are pending against the petitioners—one at Bidhannagar Cyber Crime Police Station (April 3, 2024) and another at Barrackpore Cyber Crime Police Station (November 5, 2025).

The CCW is also probing the Barrackpore case, which is linked to the alleged cyber fraud involving the Ruia family.