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Shine City case: How complex corporate web was allegedly used to mobilise, divert investor funds
Once the ‘mastermind’ is extradited from UAE, interrogation is expected to reveal white-collar links that may have enabled his operations
Rashid Naseem, the alleged mastermind of the multi-crore Shine City investment fraud (over ₹1,000 crore) who was arrested in the United Arab Emirates on Thursday after being on the run for nearly seven years, had created a complex corporate web that was used to mobilise and divert investor funds, investigators said. He managed to flee India in May 2019 after being freed from custody by Nepal Police.
About six years before his escape, Rashid Naseem established Shine City Infra Structure Pvt. Ltd in 2013 after registering it with the Registrar of Companies (ROC) in Kanpur. With his brother Asif Naseem and other close associates as co-directors, he floated 33 additional companies through ROC offices in Kanpur, Delhi and Haryana.
Projecting itself as a real estate firm offering affordable residential plots on easy installments, the Shine City group rolled out aggressive promotional schemes promising plots, jewellery, and even luxury vehicles at low cost. Offices were opened in Lucknow, Prayagraj, Varanasi and other cities in Uttar Pradesh, besides expanding into Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Jharkhand.
His extradition to India following his arrest in the UAE is expected to significantly deepen the probe, with investigators anticipating revelations about powerful white-collar links that may have enabled his operations.
Senior officials indicated that investigators will examine not only the alleged diversion of investor funds and the creation of multiple shell companies but will also probe whether influential intermediaries facilitated regulatory approvals, land transactions or administrative protection during the rapid expansion of the Shine City group.
People familiar with the matter said the interrogation will focus on financial trails, benami property acquisitions and communication records to determine who provided overt or covert support. Investigators believe that Naseem’s custodial questioning could unmask the ecosystem that allegedly allowed the enterprise to operate across states despite mounting complaints.
With over 500 FIRs registered and numerous charge sheets already filed, agencies view Naseem’s return as a crucial breakthrough in a case widely considered one of Uttar Pradesh’s largest alleged real estate-linked investment frauds.
So far, the EOW has arrested 86 accused persons and filed charge sheets in 527 cases.
A senior ED official said that an extradition request has been forwarded to the United Arab Emirates government through India’s ministry of external affairs and is currently under process. Investigators believe that securing Naseem’s custody and bringing him to Lucknow for sustained interrogation could significantly widen the scope of the probe.
According to senior state police officials, his questioning is expected to focus not only on fund mobilisation and diversion patterns but also on identifying individuals who may have facilitated regulatory clearances, land deals and administrative shielding during the company’s expansion phase.
A senior police official further said Rashid Naseem had slipped across the open India-Nepal border at a time when multiple criminal cases were being registered against him in Uttar Pradesh.
According to officials familiar with the case, he was detained by Nepal Police in May 2019 but was subsequently released under circumstances that remain under scrutiny. Soon after, he left for Dubai, where he had reportedly established a base. By then, complaints from investors had begun mounting across Uttar Pradesh and other states, alleging that the Shine City group had duped thousands by promising residential plots, jewelry, and even luxury vehicles under high-return schemes. The company and its associate entities are accused of mobilising over ₹1,000 crore from more than 5,000 investors.
Following his disappearance, non-bailable warrants were issued and proclamation proceedings were initiated. A Look Out Circular and Red Corner Notice were secured, and his passport was cancelled around 10 months ago. The Uttar Pradesh Police’s Economic Offences Wing (EOW) later consolidated the cases and intensified the crackdown, arresting dozens of associates and attaching properties linked to the network.
