Retired Banker Duped Of ₹4 Cr By Nephew Posing As IB Officer

Pune- A 53-year-old retired bank officer was allegedly defrauded of Rs 4 crore by his nephew who posed as an intelligence officer, the chain of events leaving the victim and his wife homeless, a Pune police official said on Monday.
Shubham Prabhale convinced his uncle Suryakant Thorat to give money on the pretext of getting Rs 38 crore released from a bank account that he claimed to have received as reward for his work in the defence intelligence department, the official said.

“Shubham is my wife's cousin's son. In 2019, he approached me claiming he worked in the intelligence department. He sought Rs 5 lakh saying he needed to pay some fees to claim Rs 38 crore he had received as reward money from the department,” Thorat said.

In his FIR, Thorat alleged his nephew even made him talk to someone he claimed was Union Minister Amit Shah and other senior officials to make him believe that the Rs 38 crore reward was genuine.

“Shubham kept demanding money thereafter saying it was required to clear his file regarding the reward. Between January 2020 and September 2024, I transferred over Rs 4 crore into different accounts belonging to Shubham and also made payments in cash to his father Sunil and brother Omkar,” Thorat claimed.

Thorat said he sold his properties, including a land parcel in Mulshi, a shop, two flats, a car and gold ornaments worth Rs 76 lakh and also borrowed over Rs 1 crore from relatives and friends to give money to Shubham and his family members.

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