Hyderabad: A 42-year-old woman from Moosapet was duped into paying Rs 29.27 lakh in the guise of a full time job offer in Japan. The woman was to told to ‘invest’ a total of Rs 29,27,780, which is refundable with 40% extra on the invested amount.
The woman started looking for a Software job since May 2023 as Accounts and Delivery Manager. In July, she received an email from Renoir Group regarding placements in “Hitachi Group” for the role of senior accounts manager with full time employment onsite in Japan.
The email mentioned that Hitachi will provide facilities like air tickets, family accommodation, VISA, medical, etc. once the candidate is selected in the interview with Hitachi Group.
On August 1, Kojin Nakakita from Hitachi Automotive interviewed her over Skype and the next day, she received an offer letter with the benefits and IPA (In-Principal Approval) for employment in Japan. The offer also said that the IPA will be approved in 10 working days according to MOM (Ministry of manpower Japan) guidelines. She was asked to pay Rs 33,780 refundable deposit as some candidates dropped the offer after receiving the IPA and VISA.
She paid the amount and later paid some more on different occasions towards various charges, which she was told was refundable with 40% bonus and relocation once the visa stamping is done.
The meeting with the Hitachi representatives was scheduled in Delhi, but it was postponed due to the G20 summit. She was also told that there was a delay in the meeting because almost 26 candidates backed out of the offer. Later, she was told that the meeting would be conducted in Bengaluru in October, but it was delayed again saying that some candidates are down with dengue and other health issues.
She was again told that the first batch meeting is in process and that she has to join the second batch as only limited visa stamping is done at the Japan Consultancy in Bengaluru on a given day and was again asked to pay an additional amount for the meeting.
However, she grew suspicious and enquired the Embassy of Japan in Bengaluru and found that the Hitachi group was not conducting any recruitment drive. She then lodged a complaint with Cyberabad cybercrime wing, who registered a case and started an investigation.
