20-year-old arrested for Rs 2 bn fraud

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: A 20-year-old entrepreneur was on Monday evening arrested by the Kerala police from Tamil Nadu for allegedly cheating his clients to the tune of Rs 2 billion (Rs 200 crore).

Sabarinath ran a share-broking cum financial institution here and was on the run for five days after cheating his clients, police said.

"He will be brought here later in the day and we will question him to get more details," Inspector General of Police Arun Kumar Sinha said.

Sabarinath, who has studied up to Class 12, fell out with his parents when they refused him money to start his business.

He began as a financial consultant with a life insurance company and 18 months ago launched his firm Total4U.

Police said he used to offer Rs.160,000 on an investment of Rs.100,000 for three months.  With high returns and prompt payments, Sabarinath won confidence of many and his client base increased. Reports indicate his client base included politicians and even criminals.

Sabarinath had a lavish lifestyle and owned many luxury cars. He opened a recording studio in a prominent hotel at Kochi a month ago.

The investors sensed something amiss when his office asked them to wait for their payments last month.

Sabarinath told TV channels that he had enough assets but disappeared last week. While earlier reports indicated he had been kidnapped by a criminal gang, Sinha denied it.