For six long years, Mayfair based Virendra Rastogi succeeded in portraying himself as the extremely successful and upright chief executive of a multi-billion pound worth metal trading firm. Life during this span was just perfect for Rastogi with offices located just a short chauffeur-driven drive down to the nearby Piccadilly area, children studying in private schools and customers all round the globe. But all was not as it seemed on the façade.

 

It got later revealed that Virendra Rastogi’s business, which was supported by British and US banks, actually thrived through dishonest means. Investigations traced out addresses of the co-conspirators, which also included a New Jersey launderette and a cowshed in India. Every detail of this scam of Virendra Rastogi was laid bare before the Southwark Crown Court, which cost the banking sector a massive estimated loss of £343.3 million. It was made to appear to the financial firms that they were actually supporting extremely lucrative business of Rastogi, who is married and fathers two children.

 

Virendra Rastogi, infact, duped everyone to such an extent that his name even appeared on The Sunday Times Rich List. Rastogi took other measures as well to bolster his false image such as hiring PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) as his auditor in Britain and so on. Virendra Rastogi’s brother in the US also helped him in operating this business. The truth came to light after one of Rastogi’s accomplices in Hong Kong, in an attempt to send him false letters from various customers, pressed the wrong button on a fax machine and sent all the material to PwC.