Mumbai: Shipping Company Director Extorted Of ₹1.97 Crore Through Threats Of Environmental Violation

A Managing Director of a shipping company fell victim to an extortion scheme, wherein an individual managed to extract a sum of ₹1.97 crore by employing intimidation tactics. The incident has prompted the police to initiate an investigation and file a First Information Report (FIR) at the Marine Drive Police Station.

According to law enforcement sources, a 56-year-old entrepreneur serving as the director of a shipping company approached the police with a grievance. He alleged that he had been contacted by an individual named Mohit Joshi, who claimed to possess incriminating video evidence of sewage discharge from a ship traveling from Mexico to the USA into the sea.

Threat to release video

Joshi allegedly threatened the complainant, asserting that he would turn the video over to the Coast Guard. If this were to happen, the ship, along with its crew and officers, would be impounded. Fearing the consequences, the complainant reluctantly transferred ₹1.97 crore to Joshi's bank account.

After parting with the money, Joshi contacted the complainant once more, this time demanding an additional 3,00,000 US dollars. Feeling further pressured, the complainant decided to reach out to the police for assistance.

A formal written complaint was lodged by the complainant with the Marine Drive Police. In response, the police promptly contacted the relevant bank, leading to the freezing of Joshi's account.

Investigation underway

During the course of their investigation, the police verified that the complainant had indeed transferred funds to Joshi's account between June 2022 and July 2022. Acting on the orders of DCP Zone one, Dr. Pravin Munde, an FIR has been registered in this case.

The complainant, who specializes in providing workforce services for ships, had several of his personnel aboard the ship in question.