Surat pharma traders booked for ₹8.5 cr fraud involving fake bank letter of credit, mock demat portfolio

The Ahmedabad City Economic Crime Prevention Branch has registered a case of cheating and forgery against the owners and associates of Surat-based Prizam Alliance Pvt Ltd. for allegedly duping an Ahmedabad-based pharmaceutical raw-material trader of more than ₹8.54 crore through fake bank documents and a fabricated demat account portfolio.

As per the complaint lodged by Bharunam Sagar Anishbhai Desai of Gandhinagar, the accused include company directors Gajanand Muralilal Sharma and Vikas Gajanand Sharma, both from Adajan in Surat; Babukumar Ravindra Pathak, also of Surat; Rahulkumar Aniruddhasinh Chudasama of Surat; broker Parag Shah and Chennai-based chartered accountant S Raghunathan.

Desai, who trades in pharmaceutical intermediates along with his mother and sister from units at Changodar in Ahmedabad district, told police that in February 2023, broker Parag Shah introduced him to the Prikam Alliance directors. The company initially paid promptly for several small consignments of pharmaceutical raw materials sent on a 10-day credit.

Encouraged by the regular payments, Desai continued supplying larger quantities. By March 2023, the accused allegedly placed orders worth several crores and assured Desai that a letter of credit (LC) issued by Social Islami Bank Ltd, purportedly routed through ICICI Bank, would guarantee the payments. The LC was later confirmed by ICICI Bank to be forged.

When Desai demanded payment, the accused allegedly issued a series of cheques which were returned unpaid due to 'stop payment' instructions or 'insufficient funds'. The total outstanding, according to the complainant, reached ₹8.54 crore

Desai further alleged that Vikas Sharma persuaded him to open a demat account and hand over the password, claiming it would display shareholdings as security. The portfolio that appeared in the account turned out to be merely a mock display; no actual shares could be sold.

Based on the complaint, the Economic Crime Prevention Branch booked all the named persons under BNS sections criminal breach of trust, cheating, forgery and using forged documents, and criminal intimidation, among others.

Investigators said that one of the accused had earlier admitted before the Bombay High Court, while seeking anticipatory bail, that he had transferred around ₹4.14 crore to another Ahmedabad-based firm on instructions linked to the same allegedly fake LC.