Ad film director duped of Rs 1.53 cr by Goa-based realtor couple

The complainant said he came in contact with Malhotras in 2020 through a mutual friend while looking for an estate agent to buy a piece of land in Goa for a bungalow.

In November 2020, Malhotras who reside in Bardez, Goa, visited the complainant’s residence in Goregaon (West) and shared details of a few plots.

As per the police complaint, in December 2020, the complainant visited Malhotras’ residence in Goa when the couple showed him four plots, of which the complainant liked one in Bardez and decided to buy the same for Rs 84 lakh.

The complainant gave a token amount to the owner through a cheque of Rs 5 lakh via the Malhotras. He also gave Rs 3.25 lakh to the Malhotras as commission. An MoU was also signed in February 2021 in the presence of the land owners, the police complaint said.

In March 2021, due to the Covid-19 pandemic and subsequent lockdown, all land ownership related works were stalled. During this time, Vikramdev Malhotra approached the complainant and informed him about four more plots in Goa that were for sale at a cheaper rate. Claiming investment in these plots would yield good profit in the next 2-3 years, Malhotra insisted the complainant buy these plots, states the FIR.

The complainant agreed and transferred money to Malhotras in parts in order to give it to the land owners.

However, the complainant later discovered that the Malhotras were not proceeding with the transfer of ownership of the plots. After waiting for two years, the complainant finally told the Malhotras to refund all his money as there was no progress on the part of transferring ownership of the said pieces of land, the complainant stated in the FIR.

After this, Malhotra gave three cheques of Rs 51 lakh each to the complainant in July 2023. However, it could not be processed at the bank as the account given by the Malhotras was blocked.

After following up with the Malhotras, the complainant eventually realised that they had no intention of returning his money. Then he filed a police complaint. Further investigation is on, police said.