BENGALURU: Ashwani Jhunjhunwala had lost Rs 47 lakh in online poker and was down another Rs 45 lakh in debt. He was under the gun, and he knew it.
So, when the Goldman Sachs vice-president reached out in desperation to a former colleague and was offered a lifeline in cash and the promise of $400,000 if he pulled off a $10-million scam, he jumped.
Officers investigating the $5.4-million insider fraud at Goldman Sachs’ Bengaluru office said Jhunjhunwala’s addiction had put him in a vulnerable spot, especially because he didn’t realise that he sinking financially till huge debts were staring him in the face.
“He had to do something to ensure that he did not have to give up the high-flying lifestyle he was used to,” an investigating officer told TOI. “When a former colleague, Vedant Rungta, suggested a way to defraud the company $10 million or more, he thought he’d found a way to wriggle out of the colossal mess that he’d created for himself.”
Jhunjhunwala, vice-president (forex and equity settlements) at Goldman Sachs, had taken personal loans of around Rs 20 lakh and a Rs 25-lakh loan from HDFC Bank to tide over the crisis.
“He was defaulting on repayments and he was under severe pressure from lenders,” the officer said. “He made several attempts to have the bank loan enhanced last month, but the bank refused because he had ducked at least six interest payments on the loan.”
Jhunjhunwala decided to contact Rungta, a flamboyant executive who had exited Goldman Sachs after himself perpetrating a fraud while he was still with the firm. “He made contact with Rungta on Facebook, explained his problems and said he needed money,” the officer said. “The two men chatted online and Rungta agreed to loan him Rs 7 lakh. Rungta transferred Rs 6 lakh to Jhunjhunwala’s account and gave him Rs 1 lakh in cash.”
Jhunjhunwala used the money to clear some of his debts. In the meantime, he continued regularly called and messaged Rungta. It was at this point, Jhunjhunwala told investigators during interrogation, that Rungta suggested he rip off the company.
Jhunjhunwala had deleted his chat and call history with Rungta on his phone, said another officer investigating the case. “We are in the process of identifying individuals he had financial transactions with.”