Former Congress minister Roshan Baig arrested by CBI in ₹2,500 cr IMA scam

IMA co-founder Mohammed Mansoor Khan at the time of his arrest had alleged that Baig had cheated him of ₹400 crore and forced him to gift expensive cars and jewellery. However, Baig had denied those allegations.

Former Karnataka Congress minister and seven-time MLA Roshan Baig has been arrested in the IMA scam by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Sunday after a marathon 10 hour grilling. IMA scam refers to I Monetary Advisors, an investment company purportedly run in compliance with Islamic banking rules. IMA collapsed in May last year when it was unable to repay either the deposits or dividends on the deposits it had illegally accepted.

Baig had claimed his innocence and claimed that he had only accepted donations for religious pilgrimage purposes. (Courtesy- Twitter @rroshanbaig)

IMA co-founder Mohammed Mansoor Khan at the time of his arrest had alleged that Baig had cheated him of ₹400 crore and forced him to gift expensive cars and jewellery. Baig, at that time, had vehemently denied the charges and claimed that except for some donations to Haj facilitation centers, he had not accepted any money. More than 51,500 depositors are said to have lost ₹2,500 crore collected by IMA and its numerous subsidiaries in the ponzi scheme.

While initially a police probe was ordered with a Special Investigation Team being setup, in September 2019, the state government handed over the case to CBI. Baig, who after being arrested by the CBI, was produced before a magistrate, has been remanded to CBI custody for 14 days for further investigation.