The Vile Parle police have busted a financial scam wherein a brokerage firm duped investors to the tune of Rs 1.4 crore. The cops have arrested Artha Vrddhi Securities director Sunil Jail and owners Dhiren Shukla and Anurag Shukla in the case while a fourth accused, a business consultant for the firm named Jairaj Bafna, is absconding. The firm allegedly approached targets offering them help manage their trading account to make the most benefit. The accused then furnished fake transaction details to the victims and diverted the profit to their relatives.

The scam came to light following a complaint filed by Sunil Giri, a Bandra East resident and property dealer. As per his statement to the police, the scam started in July 2019 when he was approached by a senior manager of Artha Vrddhi Securities who set up a meeting between Giri and Jain and Bafna in October that year. Giri accepted their offer to manage his trading account. The accused then set up a demat account for Giri’s company Blue Sea International. Giri told cops that the accused used to send him transaction records and profit and loss reports.