Pune: Online fraudsters posing as officials of a France-based company cheated a 36-year-old company owner of Rs47.83 lakh between May and July this year.According to the complaint, the fraudsters claimed to represent a prominent French company that was looking for a new business partner for the procurement and supply of a specific industrial chemical solution.Senior inspector Atul Bhos of the Nanded City police said, “The businessman, a resident of Sinhagad Road, received a call from one of the fraudsters on May 7 this year. The caller identified himself as the purchase manager of the French company. The victim conducted an online search and found details of the company. They persuaded the complainant to act as a mediator and asked him to buy an expensive industrial chemical solution from them and supply it to other companies in India. They promised him a commission of more than 30%.”“The fraudsters asked him to buy 30 litres of the chemical solution and transfer Rs47.83 lakh to five different bank accounts, all maintained with Indian banks. The complainant then waited for the delivery, but it never arrived. When he contacted the ‘French company officials’, they demanded another Rs40 lakh. It was then that the complainant realised he had been cheated,” Bhos added
