A 45-year-old man from Thane, Navi Mumbai, was allegedly duped of over Rs 1.22 crore in a foreign exchange (forex) trading fraud, police said on Sunday.

Senior inspector Gajanan Kada said that based on a complaint, the cyber police on Friday registered a case against five people under section 420 (cheating) and other relevant provisions of the Indian Penal Code and the Information Technology Act.

He said the accused allegedly contacted the victim, a resident of Kharghar, and lured him to invest in forex trading by promising attractive returns.

The official said the complainant paid Rs 1.22 crore between November 2020 and March 2024.

In January, the complainant discovered that he had Rs 2.54 crore, including profits, in his forex trading account but was unable to withdraw the amount, he said.

The accused asked them to pay Rs 48 lakh as tax and Rs 17.85 lakh as currency conversion charges, which they did, the officer said.

However, despite making these payments, the complainant did not receive the money invested by him and the profits earned, he said.

The officer said that no arrest has been made in the case and the police is investigating the matter.