Industrialist Pawan Ruia arrested by Bengal Police in Rs 300-crore cyber fraud case
Telegraph | 1 April 2026
City industrialist Pawan Ruia was arrested by the cybercrime wing of Bengal Police on Tuesday in connection with an alleged online fraud worth around ₹300 crore.
Police said proceeds of crime from cheating a senior citizen in Salt Lake through an online fraud allegedly landed in accounts directly linked to Ruia, pointing to a larger racket.
“A senior citizen, Swapan Kumar Mondal, a resident of the Eco Park police station area, was defrauded after installing an APK file on his mobile phone and cheated of ₹93 lakh with the false promise of huge returns on investment,” said a senior officer of the cybercrime wing.
“Our investigation revealed that the money was siphoned off through multiple corporate current accounts of shell companies. Further investigation showed these accounts were operated under the direction of Pawan Ruia from Ruia Center at 46, Syed Amir Ali Avenue,” the officer added.
Ruia has been booked under sections of cheating, criminal breach of trust and forgery.
He will be produced before the Bidhannagar court on Wednesday.
This newspaper had reported on November 10, 2025, that the police had initiated a suo motu case based on their probe into cybercrime cases, where proceeds of around ₹315 crore were traced to bank accounts of shell companies allegedly belonging to members of the Ruia family.
Ruia, once trusted by the CPM-led government to revive ailing corporate behemoths Dunlop and Jessop, had earlier moved Calcutta High Court and obtained legal protection for himself and his family.
The police said Ruia was arrested hours after the court withdrew that protection on Tuesday. He was picked up outside a hotel in New Town around 4.45pm.
Ruia had earlier been arrested in 2016 for the alleged theft of railway equipment from the Jessop premises.
Investigators said the probe revealed that people across the country had been defrauded by an interstate cybercrime racket.
A scrutiny of the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal (NCRP) showed that 1,379 cyber fraud cases across India were linked to Ruia and his associates, an investigator said.
The racket allegedly used cryptocurrencies to conceal illegal transactions and route money abroad.
Police sources said that in one case, the proceeds of cyber fraud were traced to an account linked to Hughli Machineries Pvt Ltd. The money was subsequently transferred to two other accounts of the same company.
When investigators examined the company’s PAN details, they found that at least 544 cyber fraud complaints had been reported on the NCRP against these accounts.
Further investigation revealed a network of 16 beneficiary firms with 11 common directors. “These firms include Gain E Commerce, Melrose Creation Private Limited, Dahisar Traders Private Limited and Xettle Technologies Private Limited,” an officer said.
“These 11 individuals are directors of 186 companies across India. Of these, 147 are registered under the Registrar of Companies, Calcutta. As many as 73 of these share the same registered address — 9, Ezra Street, Calcutta 700001. Physical verification and local enquiry revealed no such office exists there,” a senior officer said.
The names of Pawan Kumar Ruia and his immediate family members surfaced as alleged beneficiaries of the proceeds of crime, the police said.
“The inquiry revealed that there are multiple bank accounts in their names, and money from 23 reported cyber frauds directly landed in these accounts,” an officer said.
Last year, the police arrested a co-accused, Rahul Verma, at Delhi airport while he was allegedly trying to flee to London. Sources said his arrest led investigators to “clinching evidence” against the Ruias. Verma is currently in judicial remand.