The Delhi Police Sunday arrested an alleged interstate fraudster accused of running a pan-India foreign currency exchange cheating racket, who was wanted in multiple cases in the national capital, Mumbai, and Kolkata.
According to Crime Branch officers, Krishna Kumar Sharma, 31, was tracked down and arrested in Kiran Garden, Uttam Nagar. They said Sharma is the mastermind of a gang that duped victims by offering favourable foreign currency exchange deals, and posing as film industry professionals.
His associate, Saurabh, has already been arrested by the Kolkata police.
“SI Anuj Chhikara received a tip-off on December 6 that Sharma would visit Kiran Garden to meet an associate. A team was formed… After placing Sharma under technical surveillance, and pinpointing his location, officers laid a trap and apprehended him the same day,” said Harsh Indora, Deputy Commissioner of Police, Crime Branch.
Cases in multiple cities
Sharma, who belongs to Rishra in West Bengal’s Hooghly district, had been on the run after a case was registered against him at the Shakespeare Sarani Police Station in Kolkata. A warrant of arrest was issued against him by the chief judicial magistrate in Kolkata on December 6.
Sharma is wanted in an FIR registered on November 14 under sections 318(4), 319(2) and 61(2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS). The complainant alleged that Sharma induced him to part with $15,000 and 1,000 euros, valued at approximately Rs 14.5 lakh, on the pretext of a forex deal.
Crime Branch officers said Sharma has been previously involved in at least four other cases, in Amboli and Vakola in Mumbai, and one at Connaught Place in Delhi. In 2023, he allegedly cheated a woman of Rs 45 lakh by promising to arrange the signing of a Bollywood actor.
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The police said Sharma was booked in a case last year at the Connaught Place Police Station, Delhi, where the complainant, Shivam Pandey, alleged that while collecting money from Sharma, he was given a glass of water after which he lost consciousness. When he recovered, a bag that had $25,000 was missing.
Sharma was arrested in that case, and was out on bail.
Use of luxury hotels, elaborate setups
The police said the group operated from luxury hotels, travelled frequently by air, and paid for flights and hotel rooms in cash. Members used multiple mobile phones and SIM cards, as well as internet-based calling apps such as Zangi. Officers also recovered information indicating the use of items like chilli spray and chloroform during operations.
“Sharma pretended to be involved in the film industry and falsely represented himself as a film businessman to gain the trust of professionals. He convinced the victims that he could arrange meetings with film actors for upcoming film projects, thereby gaining their confidence and cheating them out of large sums of money. In this gang, Krishna’s nephew Mayank and several others, such as bouncers, makeup men, and others, participated in the crime,” said DCP Indora.
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To win the confidence of businessmen and forex traders, the gang allegedly booked rooms in five-star hotels, and created elaborate setups with accomplices posing as bouncers, makeup artists, and staff. Victims were asked to hand over dollars or euros, after which gang members would enter a bedroom on the pretext of verifying the currency with a manager, only to flee through another exit, said the police.
According to the police, Sharma was born in Kolkata in 1994. He completed his schooling and later graduated with a BCom (Hons) from Calcutta University in 2016.
A year later, he founded an event management company, Ace Entertainment, and is said to have produced a music video with a major label in 2019. Officers said that after suffering heavy losses during the pandemic, he turned to large-scale forex fraud, travelling across metro cities to target traders and business owners.
