Bhubaneswar: The Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of Odisha police has blown the lid off a massive pan-India share trading scam by arresting the mastermind from Kolkata.

The accused has been identified as Saiyyad Jiyajur Rahaman of Hooghly district in West Bengal.

On a lookout circular, the Bureau of Immigration (BoI) had detained Rahaman at Kolkata airport upon his return from Dubai.

The accused was brought to Odisha on a transit remand, said the EOW in a statement today.

Rahaman, the owner of LFS Broking & PMS Services, had duped one Arun Kumar Pattanaik and his relatives of Dhenkanal district of over Rs 20 lakh in the name of share trading.

The accused had promised 2 per cent monthly interest on the invested amount till the final payment.

The EOW had registered a case under the relevant sections of IPC and OPID Act on May 27 after receiving a complaint in this regard from Pattanaik.

During investigation, the EOW officials came to know that Rahaman had duped over 6,000 of investors in Odisha and other states including West Bengal, Bihar, Maharashtra, Jharkhand and Gujarat of over Rs 600 crore in the name of share trading.

He had reportedly collected Rs 100 crore from investors in Odisha, said the EOW.

Rahman was luring the gullible investors through agents. Besides, he was holding meetings at different places to entice investors. After collecting the money in unauthorized accounts, the accused was diverting the amount for other purposes.

“The accused has two wives and he owns luxury hotels and resorts in West Bengal. He has channelized the duped money to his hotel business. The accused was on the run since July last year,” said the EOW.

The accused had fled to Dubai and Bangladesh to evade police action. The BoI had issued a lookout circular against the accused as per the request of the EOW in Odisha.

The SEBI has already banned Rahaman as a stock broker for five years, said the EOW.