New Delhi (IANS): Delhi Police’s Economic Offences Wing (EOW) on Wednesday said that it has arrested Raj Kumar Khatri, who duped a Canadian citizen out of tens of millions of rupees by posing as the owner of a five star hotel under construction.

Additional Commissioner, EOW, R.K. Singh said that Khatri was arrested on the basis of a complaint by the Canadian citizen who alleged that he misrepresented himself as the chairman of “All India Handicraft Association” and also the proprietor of “TrimurtiImpex” and ripped him off of his 11-12 properties by getting him into a fake partnership for the hotel in Aerocity.

Khatri won the Canadian citizen’s confidence with help of forged documents pertaining to deals for the hotel, as well as of the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) land.

“Later on, coming to India, the Canadian citizen was told by Khatri that the said hotel was not yet completed and was to be sold to some big business house. He said that he would return all his money and other assets, which did not happen even after many remedies and assurances,” Singh said.

Singh said that during the investigation, it was found that Khatri had executed an equity deal with the complainant in 2012, wherein the accused assured him of transferring 50 per cent shares of the five star hotel and in return, the complainant would transfer his 11 properties located in Canada.

Singh said that since the complainant was an NRI [Non-Resident Indian] businessman, he was easily lured by the accused based on misrepresentation. In order to convince the complainant, Khatri had also taken him to the ‘construction site’ in 2012 and documents of DDA land allotment were also forged.

The officer said that it was also falsely claimed that the hotel would be purchased by a big business house and fake papers were prepared by Khatri along with the other conspirators.

Khatri also opened a company in the name of Ruhani Construction in Canada and the properties of complainant was transferred in its name, Singh said.

“Thereafter, the properties of the complainant were mortgaged in Canada and the loans obtained in lieu of properties were misappropriated by the accused. Around Rs 5.50 crore [Rs 55 million or about CDN$920,000] was transferred from Ruhani Construction to the proprietorship TrimurtiImpex operated by Khatri,” Singh said.

So far in the investigation, it has been found that Khatri does not have any shares in the hotel, he said.

He also noted that Khatri has opened several proprietorship firms or partnership firms and companies in order to show himself as a big businessman.

“Khatri created several forged documents and the linkage of forged documents proves that he showed himself as 100 per cent shareholder of the five star hotel,” Singh said, and alleged that Khatri was also involved in other crimes.