Fraud: He buys a BMW for Rs 4.5 million with a bounced check

The Criminal Investigation Division of Pamplemousses has launched an investigation following a complaint of fraud filed by a French national. She reported that she sold her car, a BMW X6 xDrive M Sport, on February 13 to Keshava Duvah Pentiah, a resident of Britannia, for Rs 4.5 million.

The payment was partly made through a mobile app and by check. However, later, the French woman, who lives in the North, discovered that the amount had not been credited to her bank account and that the check was bounced. She filed a complaint at the Pamplemousses police station for fraud and provided investigators with a copy of the check given by the buyer.

As they began their investigation, the detectives from the Northern Divisional Crime Intelligence Unit confirmed with the National Land Transport Authority (NLTA) that the sedan was registered in the name of a company specializing in car sales located in a village in the South of the island. This company is run by a broker active on TikTok.

Last Friday, he was arrested and stated that he bought the sedan for Rs 2.6 million from Keshava Duvah Pentiah. The broker handed over the documents related to the vehicle purchase to Inspector Seeparsand’s team from the Pamplemousses CID.

Keshava Duvah Pentiah, 29, was subsequently arrested. During interrogation, he confessed to defrauding the French woman. He was placed in police custody, while the new buyer was allowed to go home since all the documents regarding the purchase were in order.

The sedan, which was in the possession of the new owner, the TikTok broker, was seized for the purposes of the investigation.