A 73-year-old Prayagraj businessman has alleged that shares worth nearly ₹50 lakh were sold from his demat account and the proceeds diverted through an IDBI Bank account fraudulently opened in his own name.
Ajay Kumar Bansal, a resident of Old Bairhana, has accused a man identified as Rahul Kapoor of gaining his trust by claiming to be a former Karvy Stock Broking employee.
According to the complaint, Kapoor initially helped sell some of Bansal’s shares and ensured that ₹39,38,480.12 reached the investor’s genuine HDFC Bank account.
That successful transaction allegedly became the foundation for a much larger fraud.
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₹39.38 lakh genuine payment allegedly built confidence
Bansal had held a demat account with Karvy Stock Broking Limited. The account was later transferred to IIFL Capital Services Limited as part of the regulatory transition involving Karvy accounts.
Kapoor allegedly approached Bansal and claimed that old shares were still lying in his demat account.
He reportedly told the elderly investor that he had helped several people recover or sell old holdings and could do the same for him.
After visiting Bansal’s office several times, Kapoor allegedly obtained details relating to the demat account along with Aadhaar, PAN and other documents.
On August 12, 2024, some of the shares were sold.
The resulting ₹39.38 lakh was credited directly into Bansal’s actual HDFC Bank account, according to the complaint.
Nothing about that transaction appeared suspicious.
In fact, the successful payment allegedly convinced Bansal that Kapoor was genuinely helping him.
That trust later gave the accused access to far more sensitive financial information.
Fake statement allegedly hid remaining shares
Bansal claims he later asked Kapoor about shares still remaining in the account.
Kapoor allegedly provided him with a computer-generated statement showing that nothing remained and that all holdings had already been sold.
The statement is now alleged to have been fabricated.
Kapoor reportedly remained in contact with Bansal afterwards and continued visiting his office under the pretext of helping with mutual funds and other investments.
The alleged fraud remained hidden until Bansal’s chartered accountant began preparing his income-tax return for financial year 2025-26.
While reviewing the Annual Information Statement, the accountant noticed share-sale transactions that Bansal did not recognise.
That discovery triggered a deeper examination.
Bansal and his company secretary approached IIFL and obtained the client master data connected with the demat account.
The document allegedly revealed something unexpected: an IDBI Bank account linked to the investment account.
Account allegedly opened in victim’s own name
Bansal then approached IDBI Bank’s Civil Lines branch.
According to his complaint, he discovered that an account had been opened in his name on August 1, 2025.
The allegation becomes particularly serious at this point.
Bansal claims Kapoor’s own mobile number and address were used while the bank account itself was opened under Bansal’s identity.
That account was allegedly linked to the demat account.
The remaining shares were then sold during financial year 2025-26, with proceeds of around ₹50 lakh routed into the disputed IDBI account.
Kapoor allegedly withdrew the money afterwards.
Police will now have to establish exactly how that bank account was opened and what verification took place.
What are KYC and client master details?
KYC, or Know Your Customer, is the identity-verification process used by banks, brokers and other financial institutions.
It normally involves documents such as PAN, Aadhaar or other recognised identity and address proofs.
SEBI describes KYC as a core safeguard against identity theft, financial fraud and unauthorised account use.
A Client Master List or Client Master Report contains important information linked to a demat account, including the investor’s identity and account particulars.
Changes to bank details, mobile numbers or other linked information are therefore highly sensitive.
SEBI’s investor charter specifically tells account holders to inform depository participants of any change in bank, mobile, email or address details and obtain confirmation that the update has been recorded.
It also advises investors to regularly verify demat balances and transaction statements and immediately report unauthorised debits or credits.
Those safeguards become important in the Prayagraj case because investigators now need to determine who requested changes to the account and what documents or authentication were used.
Police may need to examine possible KYC failure
Bansal has alleged that Kapoor’s wife was also part of a criminal conspiracy and has asked investigators to examine whether any bank employees were involved.
There is currently no finding establishing such collusion.
But the allegation raises an obvious investigative question: how was a bank account opened in a 73-year-old man’s name while allegedly carrying somebody else’s contact details?
Police are likely to examine the account-opening form, KYC documents, CCTV footage, mobile-number records and authentication trail.
They will also need to establish how the new bank account became linked to Bansal’s demat account.
SEBI has long recognised the risks surrounding unauthorised securities transfers. In 2024, the regulator strengthened safeguards aimed at preventing fraud and misappropriation involving inactive or dormant demat accounts.
The Prayagraj complaint illustrates why the entire chain matters.
The alleged fraud did not simply depend on stealing shares.
It allegedly required access to identity documents, control over bank-account details, changes to the investment account and enough trust to prevent the elderly investor from noticing the changes until much later.
Police are now expected to trace where the ₹50 lakh went after leaving the disputed account and whether anybody else assisted in opening or operating it.
What this means for you: Check your demat holdings, registered bank account, mobile number and email periodically rather than waiting for tax season. Never hand Aadhaar, PAN or investment-account documents to someone merely because they claim to be a former employee of a known broker.
The420 Insight: The cleverest part of this alleged fraud was the legitimate first payment. By sending ₹39.38 lakh into the victim’s real bank account, the accused allegedly created enough credibility to gain access to the very documents needed for a much larger theft later.
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