The wealth management arm of Kotak Mahindra Bank misled a customer into investing in its India Growth Fund at a steep premium, based on bogus claims. Kotak officials remain impassive even as the investor struggles to find buyers

It seems that customers everywhere are paying a hefty price for their blind trust in companies with strong brand images. Citibank claims it had no inkling about the Rs400-crore fraud played out by one of its employees on unsuspecting clients. Now, a customer of Kotak Mahindra Bank has learnt a harsh lesson after reposing unquestioning faith in the brand he trusted so much.

In a shocking incident, a high net-worth client of Kotak Mahindra Bank was hustled into buying a dud product for a whopping sum of Rs2.27 crore, with the bank pocketing a cool profit of Rs1 crore in the process. The wealth management arm of the bank allegedly misled the investor into putting the money in its India Growth Fund, based on bogus claims regarding its worth and taking undue advantage of the brand name to influence the buyer. The investor's repeated pleas to rectify the damage have fallen on deaf ears as Kotak officials refuse to budge.

The investor, Rajan Manchanda, had in June 2007, invested large amounts in two of Kotak's funds-Biotech fund and Realty fund. Mr Manchanda was given a detailed presentation for both these funds and he gave his acceptance to make the investments. Mr Manchanda also assisted Kotak in getting equivalent investments from his cousin for these two funds. Kotak zeroed in on him again to sell him another product-India Growth Fund.

Mr Manchanda was allegedly misled into investing in the fund by making bogus claims about its worth. Claiming that the fund was being sold to him by another investor in a distress sale at an attractive discount, the Kotak official made a strong pitch in favour of the fund. Although the investor had some reservations, he was persuaded into buying it, saying there was a rush of investors wanting the product while it was available at a discount. Kotak collected Rs2.27 crore from Mr Manchanda, who was under the impression that he was getting the fund at a discount to its value of Rs2.5 crore.

"I told him I had already made huge commitments in the two funds and would like to avoid further commitment. He insisted that I trust him and would not regret as three to four companies were going public in the next 12 months and that would more than take care of the amounts payable for the two other funds. He wanted a commitment immediately or else I would lose out. Upon his assurances and insistence I agreed to invest," said Mr Manchanda, describing his situation.

Curiously, Mr Manchanda was asked to make out the cheque in favour of Kotak Mahindra Prime Ltd, the car financing division of Kotak, and not the seller of the fund. He was told that this was due to certain 'technicalities' involved in the transfer of the fund and that Kotak was not benefiting in any way but only facilitating the transfer. He was repeatedly told that the premium on the distress sale had been paid to the seller of the fund. Surprisingly, the investor was not issued any agreement letter, despite assurances to that effect. Neither was he given any valuation report. Mr Manchanda lost trust and requested the officials to sell all the three funds. Kotak officials, however, kept on assuring him that the funds would be sold and that he should bear with them as the markets were bad.

Sensing foul play, Mr Manchanda approached the Chennai-based seller of the fund in October 2009 and found that he had been taken for a ride all along. Apparently, the seller was paid only his contribution of Rs1.25 crore, minus Rs6 lakh collected by Kotak. Mr Manchanda realised that Kotak had betrayed the trust he had reposed in them and that Kotak had fraudulently dumped onto him a worthless investment at a steep premium. It is obvious that someone at Kotak has made off with a cool Rs1 crore in the process.

Mr Manchanda also tells us that the Realty fund was sold by Kotak on his behalf at Rs1.01 crore, against his investment of Rs1.47 crore. He had to bear a loss of Rs46 lakh on the investment. Apparently, the fund was valued at 1.2 times the investment but sold at a 35% discount to the actual investment. The Biotech fund, supposedly valued at twice the investment, cannot find a buyer, claim Kotak officials. The India Growth Fund is also failing to attract any buyers.

The investor now finds himself in a deep hole as his repeated attempts to get the attention of the top authorities at Kotak have taken him nowhere. Shockingly, every time he finds himself being redirected to the very people who sold him the fund in the first place!

Only recently did the investor get a reply from the wealth management arm on behalf of Uday Kotak, stating that he was not duped in any way. Even Moneylife's attempts to get answers have not yielded any response yet.

The investor has also lodged a complaint with the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), but has not made any progress here too.