- By Priyanka Koul
- Thu, 27 Nov 2025 06:30 PM (IST)
- Source:JND
A shocking case of financial fraud has recently come to light in Mumbai, where a 72-year-old businessman was deceived out of approximately Rs 35 crore. Bharat Harakchand Shah, a resident of Matunga West, has accused a brokerage firm, Globe Capital Market Limited, of using his wife’s account for unauthorised trading over a period of four years.
Shah, who, along with his wife, runs a low-cost guest house for cancer patients in Parel, inherited a portfolio of shares after his father’s death in 1984. However, as the couple had no expertise in the stock market, they never engaged in active trading.
According to an NDTV report, the fraudulent activities are said to have started in 2020. Following a friend's suggestion, Shah opened Demat and trading accounts for both himself and his wife with Globe Capital Markets Limited, transferring their inherited shares to the firm.
At first, their interactions with the company appeared to be straightforward. Company representatives regularly contacted Shah, offering reassurances. They told him that no extra investment would be necessary for trading and that their shares could be safely traded with the company acting as collateral.
The representatives informed Shah that the company would assign him "personal guides" to assist him. Under this premise, two employees, Akshay Baria and Karan Siroya, were assigned to "manage" his portfolio. From that point, the two employees took full control of Shah and his wife’s accounts.
According to the FIR report, things quickly escalated. Initially, the two representatives contacted Shah daily, instructing him on which trades to make. Soon, they started visiting his home and sending emails from their own laptops.
Shah claims he was manipulated into providing all the necessary information. He entered every OTP, responded to each SMS and email, and followed the instructions he was given. He was only privy to the information the company chose to share. At no point did he realise that the company had gained full control over his accounts.
Meanwhile, an extensive trading had been taking place through Shah's accounts. Between March 2020 and June 2024, the annual statements he received always showed "profits." With each clean statement, Shah had no reason to doubt that everything was in order.
How Did The Fraud Come To Light?
The fraud was discovered in July 2024 when Shah received an alarming call from Globe Capital’s Risk Management Department. They informed him, "You and your wife have a debit balance of Rs 35 crore in your accounts. You need to pay immediately, or your shares will be sold."
When Shah visited the company, he was told that unauthorised trading had taken place. Shares worth crores had been sold, and multiple “circular trades” (transactions with the same party) had caused the account to spiral into a massive loss.
To avoid losing all his remaining assets, Shah reluctantly sold his remaining shares and cleared the Rs 35 crore debt. He then transferred the remaining shares to a different company.
It wasn’t until Shah downloaded the full, detailed trading statement from Globe's website and compared it to the "profit" statements he had been receiving by email that the full extent of the fraud was revealed. He noticed significant discrepancies between the two records.
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Shah also discovered that the company had received several notices from the NSE (National Stock Exchange). However, the company had responded to these notices using Shah’s name, even though he was never informed about them. The true trading history was far different from what had been shown to him.
"For four years, the company presented us with a completely false picture while the actual losses continued to accumulate," Shah said.
Shah labelled the whole ordeal as an "organised financial fraud." He filed an FIR with the Vanrai police station, and the case, which includes charges under IPC sections such as 409 (Criminal Breach of Trust) and 420 (Cheating), has now been handed over to the Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of the Mumbai Police for further investigation.