Court sends father-son duo to EOW custody in ₹150-cr investment fraud

Investigators allege that the duo raised over ₹150 crore through a scheme run over nearly a decade, promising fixed monthly returns of 2% and gains linked to initial public offerings (IPOs)

MUMBAI: A special court under the Maharashtra Protection of Interest of Depositors (MPID) Act has remanded father-son duo Rashmikant Thanawala and Dipen Thanawala to the Economic Offences Wing (EOW) custody till April 21 in a multi-crore investment fraud case.

Court sends father-son duo to EOW custody in ₹150-cr investment fraud. (Shutterstock)

Investigators allege that the duo raised over ₹150 crore through a scheme run over nearly a decade, promising fixed monthly returns of 2% and gains linked to initial public offerings (IPOs). Instead of investing the money as claimed, the funds were allegedly siphoned off through multiple firms and accounts and some were even routed overseas. More than 50 investors are believed to have been affected.

Allowing custodial interrogation, the court said investigators need time to trace the flow of money and identify assets allegedly bought in India and abroad. It noted preliminary evidence suggesting that inverters’ funds were diverted. The court also rejected the defence’s objections saying that the “misappropriation of money trail” warranting police custody.

The father-son duo was arrested on April 14 and produced in court on Wednesday following an EOW request seeking custody to examine financial transactions, examine digital evidence and track how the funds were used. The prosecution told the court that money was collected through different investment channels and moved across several entities, requiring a detailed review of bank records, devices and linked firms to establish the trail and identify assets.

The case arises from a complaint filed before the EOW by a group of investors, who described the transactions as a “systematic, pre-meditated financial fraud perpetrated against us and numerous other victims” and claimed that “the total quantum of fraud appears to be in the region of ₹150 crore or more”.

According to the complaint, investors were persuaded to invest on the promise of guaranteed returns of 2% per month (24% annually), with funds said to be used in derivatives trading and IPO opportunities. Initial payouts were allegedly made to build trust, but payments stopped around late 2025.

Investors claim they were then given repeated assurances and shifting timelines for repayment that were not honoured. The complaint alleges the money was never invested as promised and was instead diverted through multiple channels over several years, with some funds allegedly sent to accounts and assets in Dubai, adding an international angle to the probe.

The complainants also alleged that Dipen Thanawala misled investors by using fake digital evidence. They said that he “showed investors fake websites and digital dashboards” to suggest funds were available and later admitted that the banking application displayed “was… a cloned or fake application”.

The court, in granting custody, emphasised that the investigation would require scrutiny of transactions across entities, verification of fund deployment, and identification of properties allegedly acquired from investor money to determine the full extent of misappropriation.