Mumbai man loses Rs 32 crore in trading scam; victim didn’t realise it for 4 years

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A 72-year-old resident of Matunga West in Mumbai has accused a brokerage firm of carrying out large-scale unauthorised trading that resulted in losses worth Rs 35 crore. The victim, Bharat Harakchand Shah, said Globe Capital Market Limited used his and his wife’s trading accounts without permission for four years, wiping out their inherited savings.

Shah and his wife run a low-cost guest house for cancer patients in Parel. The couple inherited a share portfolio after Shah’s father passed away in 1984. Because they had no knowledge of stock markets, the shares remained untouched for decades, according to a report by NDTV.

Things changed in 2020, when a friend advised Shah to open Demat and trading accounts with Globe Capital Markets Limited. Trusting the recommendation, Shah opened accounts for himself and his wife, and transferred all their inherited shares to the brokerage.

In the beginning, interactions with the company appeared normal. Staff members called regularly, assuring him that no extra money would be required for trading and that his existing shares could be used as security. They also promised “personal guides” to help him understand the process. Under this arrangement, two employees, Akshay Baria and Karan Siroya, were assigned to manage the couple’s accounts.

According to Shah, this was when the trouble began. He alleges the two employees slowly took complete control of his accounts. They instructed him on what orders to place and soon started visiting his home, operating from their own laptops. Shah says he was persuaded to share all details, enter every OTP, and approve every message sent to him, believing the company was acting in his interest, the report said.

Fake profit statements hid years of losses

As per the FIR, Shah was unaware that massive trading activity was taking place in his name. Globe Capital allegedly conducted lakhs of rupees’ worth of trades every day through his and his wife’s accounts. However, from 2020 to 2024, the annual statements Shah received always showed profits.

Since the statements appeared clean and positive, Shah didn’t doubt the company. Behind the scenes, the trades being carried out were risky and excessive. Many transactions were allegedly “circular trades,” meaning the same party bought and sold shares repeatedly, a sign of possible manipulation.

Shah later discovered that shares worth crores had been sold without his consent and that losses were piling up year after year. But none of this was visible to him because he was only shown filtered, misleading “profit” statements.

How did the fraud come to light?

The fraud came to light in July 2024, when Shah received a sudden call from Globe Capital’s Risk Management Department. He was told that his and his wife’s accounts had a combined debit of Rs 35 crore, and the amount had to be paid immediately or their remaining shares would be sold.

When Shah rushed to the company’s office, he was informed that years of unauthorised trading had led to the massive negative balance. Afraid of losing what little he had left, Shah sold his remaining shares and cleared the entire Rs 35 crore dues.

Only later, after downloading the original trading data from the company’s website, he realised the real extent of the manipulation. The official records were completely different from the profit statements emailed to him over the years. He also learned that the brokerage had replied to multiple NSE notices in his name, without ever informing him.

Calling it an “organised financial fraud,” Shah filed a complaint at Vanrai police station. The FIR has been registered under IPC sections including 420 (cheating) and 409 (criminal breach of trust). The case has now been handed over to the Mumbai Police Economic Offences Wing (EOW) for further investigation.