Ahmedabad businesswoman loses 1.3 kg gold in fake futures market scam

AHMEDABAD: A 47-year-old businesswoman in Ahmedabad has filed a police complaint after allegedly being cheated out of 1.3 kg of gold bullion, valued at Rs 1.74 crore, by a group of acquaintances who promised her lucrative monthly returns. The accused, comprising two insurance agents and a notary, allegedly lured the victim into a fraudulent futures market scheme using physical gold as collateral.

The complainant, a resident of Ahmedabad, had known one of the accused for over a decade through prior investments in life insurance policies and mutual funds. In 2025, the accused, along with another individual who served as the chief financial officer of a company run by the first accused, approached her with a new investment proposal. When the businesswoman informed them that she lacked liquid funds to invest, the accused allegedly pivoted to a scheme involving physical gold.

The accused promised the victim a monthly return equivalent to 2% of the gold’s value, assuring her that the physical bullion would be returned within 15 days of a formal request. In December 2025, the complainant and her father handed over 1.3 kg of gold to the accused. The transaction was formalised through an agreement that bore the name of an individual the victim did not know, but was told was an associate of the accused. The complainant signed the document and affixed her thumb impression.

However, the accused had allegedly forged the signature and thumb impression of a man residing in the United States on the agreement. When the promised returns were not credited for January and February 2026, the businesswoman demanded the return of her gold. The accused allegedly sought more time, prompting the victim to investigate the associate named in the document. She subsequently discovered that the man in question had not visited India from the US since November 2019.

This case highlights the vulnerabilities in informal investment channels and the exploitation of long-standing trust in financial advisory relationships. The accused leveraged a decade-long acquaintance to bypass the victim's initial scrutiny, demonstrating how familiarity can be weaponised in financial fraud. Furthermore, the inclusion of a notary among the accused suggests an attempt to lend an air of legitimacy to the forged documents, complicating the verification process for the victim.

The modus operandi—promising high, fixed monthly returns on a physical asset like gold—mirrors classic unregulated investment schemes, adapted to exploit the cultural affinity for gold in India. The use of a fictitious or untraceable associate based abroad further insulated the accused from immediate accountability, leaving the victim with little recourse until the returns ceased.

The Ahmedabad police have registered a case based on the complaint filed on Thursday, and investigations are currently underway to trace the accused and recover the misappropriated gold bullion. Authorities are expected to verify the forensic details of the forged agreement and examine the financial transactions linked to the accused's companies to build a comprehensive case.