ED provisionally attaches ₹14 cr assets belonging to Vinod Khute’s associates

The ED has provisionally attached assets worth ₹14 crore linked to Vinod Khute's VIPS Group for money laundering in a multi-level marketing fraud.

MUMBAI: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has provisionally attached assets worth approximately ₹14 crore in the money laundering case against the VIPS Group of companies operated by Vinod Tukaram Khute, his family members, and associates. The provisional attachment order of July 25 covers immovable assets, such as plots and flats, located in the Pune, Dharashiv, Kolhapur, and Sangli districts of Maharashtra.

ED provisionally attaches ₹14 cr assets belonging to Vinod Khute’s associates

The attached properties are allegedly owned by Vinod’s associates, who were involved in enticing and luring the public into investing in his bogus schemes and illegal trading activities. They collected the funds through various shell entities and layered them to obscure their origin. This money was then withdrawn as cash before being siphoned off to Dubai after being converted into crypto assets and through hawala channels.

ED’s investigation was based on an FIR registered in October 2023 at Pune by the Bharti Vidyapeeth police. Vinod Khute, Santosh Khute, Mangesh Khute, Kiran Pitamber Anarase and others were booked for cheating common people by collecting more than ₹100 crore through multi-level marketing schemes where they promised exorbitant returns by investing the collected sums in forex trading platforms.

Vinod, who is currently residing in Dubai, is alleged to be the mastermind of various illicit multi-level marketing and Ponzi schemes, illegal trading, bogus crypto exchanges, and wallet services through the VIPS Group of companies, M/s Global Affiliate Business, M/s Kana Capital, Real Gold Capital, etc.

Earlier in April, the ED attached movable and immovable assets worth ₹75.42 crore.