By Abhishek Tiwari

Copyright republicworld

Bengaluru: A shocking corporate deceit was exposed in Karnataka’s Bengaluru, where the former Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of Gameskraft Technologies has been accused of perpetrating a massive financial scandal involving a loss of staggering Rs 250 crore. The accused former CFO, identified as Ramesh Prabhu, was allegedly involved in the diversion of company funds for unauthorised futures and options (F&O) trading. As per the company’s allegations, the breach of trust has led to a staggering loss of around Rs 250 crore for the online gaming company.On the complaint filed by the Assistant Vice President of the company, Gulshan Yadav, the Bengaluru police have registered an FIR at the Marathahalli Police Station in Bengaluru, under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and initiated a legal action into the matter. According to reports citing the FIR, Prabhu, who joined Gameskraft in 2018, confessed to this misconduct in an email on March 5, admitting to misusing company funds from 2019 to 2025 for personal equity and derivatives trading without the knowledge or approval of other executives. A subsequent fact-finding review by Gameskraft revealed that Prabhu executed unauthorised financial transactions totalling Rs 231.39 crore during this period. Further, it surfaced that the accused primarily diverted these funds through a closely controlled RBL Bank account, falsely accounting for them as investments in the company’s books. To conceal his actions, Prabhu reportedly created fake mutual fund statements and altered bank records.The gravity of Prabhu’s actions compelled Gameskraft to write off Rs 270.43 crore in its financial statements for 2024-25. Shockingly, the former CFO has been untraceable since March 1, following his confession email, and is believed to have left India for overseas around two to three months ago. The Marathahalli police filed the FIR on September 9 under BNS Sections 316(4) (criminal breach of trust), 318(4) (cheating), 335 (making a false document), 344 (falsification of accounts), and 336(2) (forgery), following a complaint by the company’s assistant vice president. Further, steps have been initiated to issue a look-out circular (LOC) against him.An FIR was filed against Prabhu on 9 September by Marathahalli police following a complaint by Gulshan Yadav, the company’s assistant vice president. The charges include criminal breach of trust, cheating, making a false document, falsification of accounts, and forgery under sections 316(4), 318(4), 335, 344, and 336(2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).Gameskraft saw its net profit drop by about 25% to Rs 706 crore in the financial year 2025 compared to Rs 947 crore in the previous year. The decrease includes exceptional items amounting to Rs 270.5 crore, which was largely due to a write-off of Rs 231 crore linked to alleged fund siphoning by the company’s former Chief Financial Officer. The profit decline was also impacted by a full year of 28% GST on the company’s operations.The scandal comes at a challenging time for Gameskraft, which has discontinued its operations in compliance with India’s Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Act, 2025. Also Read | Pakistan Confirms India Rejected Third-Party Mediation In Operation Sindoor, Trump’s Claims Stand Exposed