Odisha News: Fraud of Rs 1000 crore in the name of investment, more than 12,000 investors from Odisha caught - investment fraud Man from odisha arrested in 1000 crore scam

Updated: Sun, 19 Oct 2025 04:14 (IST) Pratap Kumar Raut has been arrested on charges of Rs 1000 crore fraud in 10 states including Odisha. Raut lured investors with 11% to 18% monthly returns in the name of ‘Hedgeex Fund LLP’. The company collected money through various bank accounts and hawala agents and then suddenly shut down. More than 3 lakh investors are involved in this fraud, including more than 12,000 investors from Odisha. Fraud of Rs 1000 crore in the name of investment Jagran correspondent, Bhubaneswar. EOW arrested Pratap Kumar Raut (42), resident of Baialis Mauza area of ​​Cuttack district, on charges of defrauding people of 10 states, including Odisha, of over Rs 1000 crore by luring people of 11 percent to 18 percent monthly returns. Remove ads only read news According to the complainant investor Vijay Kumar Panigrahi, he invested Rs 92 lakh 60 thousand in ‘Hedgex Fund LLP’. Pratap Kumar Raut, head of this company, asked him to invest by luring him with 11 percent to 18 percent monthly returns. Obeying Raut’s words, he deposited the money into the given bank account. But after some time the company suddenly closed down and he could not withdraw his deposit. When he contacted Pratap, he just kept giving false assurances. Investigation revealed that Pratap Raut had earlier raised investments for the company in Odisha. He used to collect huge amount of money through various bank accounts, cash transactions and hawala agents. The company was suddenly shut down after crores of rupees were deposited. After the closure of the company, Raut promised to contact the investors with the company’s main partner Dinesh Kumar Jain and asked to return the money, but no money was returned. After this, Vijay lodged a complaint with EOW. It also emerged that the company was registered in ROC in Goa in the year 2023 but it was operating in 10 states including Andhra Pradesh, West Bengal, Assam, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, Delhi and Odisha. More than 3 lakh investors were involved in it. The total amount of fraud is estimated at more than Rs 1000 crore. Nearly Rs 139 crore from over 12,000 investors from Odisha alone is stuck in this. In two years (2023-24) Hedgeks cheated people by creating many affiliates like Kaushalya Foundation, Lavya World, Freex Market, Lavya International etc. Partners and other officials of the company tried to mislead the investigating agencies by using third-party accounts. Crores of rupees in cash were collected by hawala agents, operated by Pratap Kumar Raut. Currently, Pratap has been arrested.