Real estate agent falls prey to conman

A conman, posing as an executive of a business loan company, made away with ?30 lakh after promising a ?12 crore loan to a real estate agent. Instead of the loan, the agent was given a briefcase where only three currency notes of ?500 were genuine, while the rest were blank pieces of paper. Srinivas R., a director of a real estate firm in HSR Layout, was looking for a business loan, when his friend put him in touch with a business loan firm in Chennai. The firm, further, put him in touch with a man named Aravind, who asked Mr. Srinivas to meet him at a posh hotel on Sankey Road on Wednesday, said the police. Mr. Srinivas was reportedly assured of ?12 crore, repayable in 10 years, after a processing fee of ?30 lakh was paid. He was also promised a ?1.08 crore initial payment in cash. After receving the processing fee, Aravind issued him a loan certificate, which said that the company — Akshay Finance — would transfer a loan amount of ?12 crore to his bank account on Friday. Aravind handed over a briefcase to Mr. Srinivas and left the hotel. After he left, Mr. Srinivas opened the briefcase to find just three ?500 notes, while the rest were blank pieces of paper. He later filed a complaint at High Grounds Police Station. Police have obtained CCTV footage for verification.