16 October,2026 08:05 AM IST | Mumbai | Abhitash Singh
Police officials with the arrested masterminds (hooded) behind the fake border iridium investment scheme. Pic/Abhitash Singh
The Navi Mumbai Crime Branch's Economic Intelligence Cell (FIU) arrested Tirthankar Tushar Kanti Sengupta, 48, of Kolkata, and Jayant Anant Oak, 58, of Sector 16, Kamothe. The duo ran an unregistered "Iridium Particle Yojana" built on a tale of iridium "found" on the Bengal-Bangladesh border. The scam has duped around 300 investors since 2018. Not a single victim has received a rupee back.
Assistant Police Inspector Suraj Gore posed as a customer and contacted Oak, who took him to meet Sengupta at a Turbhe hotel on October 13. The accused promised returns of Rs 9 crore to Rs 28 crore on a Rs 5 lakh investment by November, and both were detained the moment Sengupta accepted Rs 1 lakh in cash as an advance.
Sengupta allegedly claimed that he and four others were "custodians" of iridium found on the border, which the Centre had supposedly sold to Germany for Rs 3.34 lakh crore. Half of that amount, or Rs 1.67 lakh crore, was allegedly theirs, but officials had to be paid to release it. Investors' money was needed for this, he claimed.
Investigators said the racket operated through a chain of custodians, beneficiaries and agents spread across states, who allegedly lured people into investing Rs 2 lakh to Rs 8 lakh each. Initial findings indicate that around Rs 4 lakh to Rs 5 lakh was collected from each investor.
Police are probing if one of the accused was himself taken in by the same story.
Victims can contact the FIU helpline on 7700920766.
