Anurag Bhatia, the prodigious-yet-troubled founder of Bengaluru-based wealth management firm Minance, has been arrested for an alleged Rs 92-lakh fraud, according to a report in the Dainik Bhaskar.

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A former co-worker of Bhatia independently confirmed the news to CNBCTV18.com.

Bhatia, a former analyst with Amazon, rose to fame after becoming an influencer on Quora and launching a fintech startup that promised to allow retail investors ways to invest in exotic instruments such as high-frequency trading, unlisted startups or overseas stocks. Associations with firms such as Angel Broking and IIFL appeared to validate Bhatia's business model.

But along with the fame came a litany of accusations, first of losses faced by investors in various products offered by Minance, followed by charges of fraud.

A two-part investigative story by ET Prime examined in detail charges levelled against Bhatia, including forgery and fraud.

The Bhaskar report quoted Jaipur police officials as saying that Bhatia promised to sell 500 shares of Paytm to a Jaipur-based businessman for Rs 18,500 each but ended up pocketing the amount without delivering the shares.

Bhatia was detained in Bengaluru from where he was driven to Jaipur and arrested, according to the report.

First Published:Sept 8, 2020 6:02 PM IST