Mumbai: Investment Banker Duped Of ₹18 Crore In Purchase Of Fake Paintings In Art Scam

Desai kept approaching Bhatiya about more such paintings. In total, Bhatiya ended up buying 11 such paintings, via Desai, from Rajpal, he said, adding that a total of ₹17.90 crores were paid by him.

A 52-year-old investment banker, resident of Tardeo was cheated by two persons by selling bogus paintings of reputed artists worth ₹18 crores.

According to the victim, Puneet Bhatiya, who approached the police on Monday, said the incident happened between January to May 2022. At a party, Bhatiya met a man named Vishwang Desai, who is a partner at Desai and Diwanji, and through whom, he was introduced to another man named Rajesh Rajpal, who was supposedly an art dealer. Rajpal worked at Art India International located at Churchgate, and had an art gallery located at Cuffe Parade.

2 exquisite paintings that were supposedly 'real'

Bhatiya, in his statement to the police, said that Desai told him about a painting named ‘Krishna with Cows’, by an artist named Manjit Bawa and said the cost of the painting was ₹6.75 crores. The painting would be sold by a retired IAS officer named Subrata Banerjee, who resides in Bhopal, said Desai to Bhatiya. The second painting Desai presented was by an artist named Francis Newton Souza, which was worth ₹1.75 crores.

Bhatiya alleged that Desai kept convincing him to buy the paintings or they would be sold off to somebody else. When the deal was done between the two, a sum of ₹6.75 lakhs was finalized and Bhaitya made the transaction. These two paintings were delivered to Bhatiya’s Delhi address, he said.

Later on, Desai kept approaching Bhatiya about more such paintings. In total, Bhatiya ended up buying 11 such paintings, via Desai, from Rajpal, he said, adding that a total of ₹17.90 crores were paid by him.

Victim realised he had been cheated by scammers

In May, when Bhatiya invited some of his friends to his Delhi location where he wanted to show off his new painting collection, one of his friends noticed the paintings were bogus. Bhatiya also contacted Banerjee to ask about the ‘Krishna with Cows’ painting by artist Manjit Bawa, who told him that he had never sold the painting to anybody.

When Bhaitya asked the same to Desai and Rajpal, they kept ignoring his questions and later assured him he would pay the money back. However, they never did, after which Desai approached the Tardeo police. Bhatiya has also shared copies of the bill, notarized stamp papers, and certificates of authenticity that were provided by Desai and Rajpal, with the police.

A case has been registered against Desai and Rajpal under sections 120 (b) (criminal conspiracy), 34 (common intention), 406 (criminal breach of trust), 420 (cheating), 467 (forgery of valuable security), 468 (forgery for purpose of cheating), 471 (using as genuine a forged document) of the Indian Penal Code.