Fugitive fraudster gets '(Face)booked' by police after posting picture

Vijay Gounder allegedly used the embezzled money to pay for his gambling habit

After smartly evading the police for nearly three years, it was the stupid mistake of posting on Facebook that landed this fraudster behind bars. On Thursday, the Powai police arrested Vijay Gounder, 39, for embezzling Rs 2.9 crore from the company he formerly worked at.

It was one of the directors of the company who noticed Gounder's posts about his travels abroad and new job in Dubai, following which a look out notice was issued to nab him.

Gounder had been wanted by the Powai police since 2016, when his former employer, Integrity Logistic Solutions India Private Limited, lodged an FIR against him. He had allegedly siphoned off nearly R3 crore from the company. His anticipatory bail plea was rejected by the Sessions Court, as well as the Bombay High Court in April 2017. Gounder had even moved the Supreme Court for relief, but before the court could hear the matter, his lawyers withdrew their plea. Since then, he had been on the run.

Gounder's posts about his new job in Dubai didn't go unnoticed by his previous employers

The big clue
After he went underground in 2017, the police visited his home in Pune several times, but were unable to find him. Gounder maintained a low profile online as well. Until recently, that is. Interestingly, a lot of activity was seen on his Facebook page on January 1, 2019, when he uploaded several pictures from his travels abroad and his new job as managing director at Ncube Cargo Shipping LLC - UAE, and Ncube Logistic Solution India Pvt Ltd. He had even posted photographs at various foreign locations, including Bankgok, Thailand, where he had participated in a conference.

Gounder suddenly became active on Facebook this year, posting several new pictures at his new job

One of the directors of the defrauded company noticed Gounder's posts and, armed with these clues, the complainant approached the police. "Once we were sure that the accused was not in India, and his Facebook updates showed his activity in different foreign countries, we wrote to senior police officials requesting them to issue a look out notice," said Dinesh Tiwari, the complainant's lawyer. Tiwari added, "The accused's anticipatory bail was consistently rejected, and yet he continued to travel to different countries with impunity."

On Jan 1, Gounder (left) posted this picture of him at a conference in Bangkok. Pics/Vijay Gounder's Facebook

Copspeak
Gounder was produced in court yesterday and remanded to police custody for seven days. Anil V Pophale, senior police inspector at Powai police station, said, "The accused was arrested thanks to the look out notice. Our team had been to his Pune address four to five times, but he was never found."

Gounder apprehended at the immigration counter at the Pune airport on the basis of the look out notice. Immigration then alerted the Powai police, and the accused was handed over to Mumbai Police.

API Mahesh Gurav, the investigating officer, said, "We had issued a look out notice on February 7, and he was apprehended on February 14, when he landed at Pune international airport from Dubai. We have just got his remand and are yet to question him, to find out if more people are involved in the case."

The case
The multi-crore forgery and criminal breach of trust case was registered on the basis of a complaint by Ravi Kumar Sharma, an assistant accounts manager who was assigned the duty of auditing the accounts of Integrity Logistic Solutions, which does custom clearance and freight forwarding.

According to the FIR, the company opened a branch in Pune in 2013 at Gounder's behest, and appointed him as the branch manager. He was given blank cheques to facilitate payment for shipping or other services that the clients required. In 2014, the company decided to use a new accounting software, but following an audit, they realised that Gounder had embezzled huge amounts of money by submitting forged vouchers and challans.

The company directors learned that he would withdraw large sums from ATMs at casinos in Goa, pointing to a gambling habit. He had also siphoned off money to his wife's account and 12 others. In 2016, when they confronted him, he abruptly quit the company. One of the directors said, "The funds used by the accused were reserve capital for paying taxes. We have been duped to the tune of Rs 2.9 crore, which he still owes to the company."

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