A fraudster of Koraput district in Odisha has allegedly duped more than 20 businessmen of several States of the country of Rs 200 crore on the pretext of providing them franchises for electric vehicles (EVs). He is identified as Prabhat Kumar Nahak.
The fraud came to light when the victims lodged a complaint with the Economic Offence Wing (EOW) in Bhubaneswar on Tuesday.
“I have been duped to the tune of Rs 30 lakh by Prabhat Nahak. I had transferred the payment to him in September 2021. However, I have not got the electric vehicles yet,” said an Uttar Pradesh businessman Lokesh Bhandari.
“We have lodged the complaint with the EOW and are hopeful that the fraudster will be arrested and we will get back our money,” Bhandari said.
Reports said the Nahak posing as an official of different electric vehicle brands, convinced different businessmen from Haryana, Rajasthan, Bihar and Uttar Pradesh to provide them franchises for selling the products. Prabhat then asked them to deposit some amount into an account towards dealer registration charges.
However, no dealerships were awarded after three years following the transfer of the money. The businessmen could neither get electric vehicles to sell, nor could they get back their money. Then they realised that they had been duped by the fraudster.