Mumbai: Financial services firm employee booked for fraud

The Dadar police have booked an employee of Motilal Oswal Financial Services Ltd for fraudulently diverting Rs 1.58 crore from the dormant Demat account of a senior citizen by manipulating her account details.

The complaint was registered by Tushar Padwal, legal manager of Motilal Oswal Financial Services, against the accused identified as Gaurang Mandalia. According to Padwal, as mentioned in the FIR (mid-day has a copy), Mandalia allegedly forged documents and submitted fraudulently modified forms between August 23, 2024, and January 10, 2025, manipulating the account of the victim by impersonating her.

The victim, a 77-year-old woman residing in south Mumbai, had opened her Demat and trading account with the company in 2016. Upon noticing irregularities in her account, she informed her financial advisor, who then approached the company seeking clarification. This prompted Motilal Oswal to launch an internal investigation into the incident.

The inquiry revealed that Mandalia had been misusing the victim’s credentials to execute the fraud. He had fraudulently submitted requests to change her registered email ID, mobile number, and linked bank account information without her consent or knowledge. These unauthorised changes, once processed, enabled the accused to reroute funds from the victim’s account. Over multiple transactions, he transferred a total of Rs 158,155,35 to an unauthorised bank account.

Based on these findings, the Dadar police registered a case against Mandalia for offences including cheating, breach of trust and forgery. Motilal Oswal Financial Services Ltd refused to comment on the case.. Meanwhile, the Dadar police have initiated an inquiry into the matter.