Assam woman absconds with Rs 100 crore in online trading scams

Guwahati: In another case of a huge online trading scam, a woman has been accused of duping Rs 100 crores of at least 8,000 villagers in Assam’s Baksa district, police said on Tuesday.

The police identified the accused woman as Mainao Brahma, adding, that she promised to give lucrative returns to the investors through an online trading scam.

However, for the last several days, she has been on the run and the villagers launched a police complaint against the woman.

The villagers claimed that Brahma had initially given them modest bonuses in order to win their trust - some of them had even given her their entire life savings.

“Her captivating demeanour had guaranteed them consistent profits, persuading numerous individuals to commit huge quantities of money, believing that this was their once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. But as time passed, doubts began to surface, and the issue surfaced when the payments stopped and Brahma was unreachable,” one of the villagers told reporters on Tuesday.

He added: “Initially, we had enough confidence in the woman and villagers thought of gaining money by investing in her scheme. However, now we are left with nothing.”

As the controversy grew, Samin Swargiary, Brahma's spouse, was also suspected of being involved in the plot. Villagers claim that while he was amassing properties and other assets with embezzled funds, the community suffered as a result of the deposit of hard-earned earnings.

Reportedly, Brahma informed her investors that she was having bad luck with her business and would not be able to return their money when the demand to repay increased.

She vanished soon after, leaving a trail of desperation over money, police stated.

Following a complaint by the villagers against Brahma, police began an investigation and a manhunt was launched to nab the accused and her husband.

Notably, an online trading scam has rocked the state in the last week after Bishal Phukan, a 22-year-old Dibrugarh native was arrested by the police in an alleged Rs 2,200 crore fraud.

An Assamese actress and choreographer, Sumi Borah has also come under the scanner of the investigating team for her active involvement in Phukan’s network.