Mumbai man claims Rs 13 crore loss in online gaming scam, probe underway

A Mumbai-based man has claimed that he lost nearly Rs 13 crore after being trapped in an online gaming fraud, which is now under investigation by Mumbai Cyber Police and the Enforcement Directorate (ED).

The man said that his ordeal began during Covid, when he first invested Rs 500 in a gaming app. Over time, he increased his investment, hoping to multiply his earnings. However, the entire life savings he had earned through years of hard work was wiped out.

The man said that the online gaming apps operated under multiple names and created confusion among users. “The online betting app was under investigation. ED is also investigating it. More than Rs 15,000 crore have been reported,” he said.

“In 2021, we received this advertisement. There are a lot of applications...And people don’t even know if the application is genuine or legal. They don’t even know. They get multiple bank accounts. They have five to six gaming platforms. I think they own all of them. All the games are the same. I think their servers are the same,” the victim added.

According to him, the platforms offered games like roulette and ludo across websites. The victim also filed an FIR against the gaming app.

The victim explained that he initially deposited Rs 50 lakh and was promised profit-sharing bonuses. “We used to invest in roulette. They said that we will give you some profit-sharing bonuses in the name of investment. But they never gave us any,” he said.

He recalled how the fraudsters allowed him to withdraw small amounts before blocking his account. “We had a deposit of Rs 50 lakh. When we used to withdraw money, they used to tell us to withdraw two lakhs first. After that, we had to recover our money every day. On the second day, we withdrew Rs 75,000. On the third day, we withdrew Rs 50,000. On the fourth day, they blocked us. Then they told us to do KYC. When we used to do KYC, they used to tell us to do it again,” he explained.

The man expressed distress and urged authorities to act. “I want to get justice from the government. I want my money refunded. That is my main request to the government,” he said.

The fraud, which reportedly involved thousands of victims and transactions worth over Rs 15,000 crore, remained under joint probe by the cyber police and ED. Further investigation is ongoing.