Fake Trading App 'AR Trade Mobi' Cheats Legal Consultant Out of Nearly ₹99.5 Million

A legal advisor formerly employed by Larsen & Toubro was defrauded of ₹99.4 million by a scam group impersonating a well-known financial firm.

The scammers impersonated employees of Anand Rathi Shares & Stock Brokers Ltd to lure 65-year-old Mumbai resident Ghanshyam Machhindra Mhatre into investing through a fake trading app.

In June, Mhatre received a WhatsApp message from a woman claiming to be Suman Gupta, an "administrator" at Anand Rathi.

Gupta introduced Mhatre to a trading app named "AR Trade Mobi," claiming it was Anand Rathi's official investment platform and providing a download link. To make the situation seem more credible, Gupta requested personal information required for "Know Your Customer" verification, including his PAN.

Gupta invited the victim into a WhatsApp group named "Anand Rathi VIP 12." Several fraudsters in the group impersonated market analysts and investment advisors, sharing stock trading updates, IPO tips, and recommending mutual funds to create an illusion of genuine trading activity.

Meanwhile, victim Mhatre found steadily increasing profits displayed on the trading platform, leading him to believe his investments were yielding returns, which prompted him to invest more.

Between June and November, the victim transferred a total of ₹99,476,958 to bank accounts provided by the fraudsters. Each transactions was purportedly for investing in IPOs and mutual funds.

However, when Mhatre attempted to withdraw his profits, the scammers repeatedly blocked the transactions under the pretext of technical glitches and demanded additional fees, such as taxes and commissions. Realizing something was wrong, the victim approached the police.

Police investigations revealed that Anand Rathi had no employee named "Suman Gupta," and the AR Trade Mobi app had no connection with the company—Mhatre had fallen victim to an investment scam.

BrokersView reminds you

All investors are advised to verify the licenses of trading platforms and financial firms to ensure that they are authorized by local financial regulators before making any investment decisions. Unauthorized financial activities often carry a high risk of investment scam.

If you would like to find out the regulatory status of a trading platform, you can search for the platform's name in BrokersView.