The economic offences wing of the Pune city police booked the owner of an investment firm for allegedly duping over 200 people to the tune of ₹300 crore on the pretext of high returns on investments, said police.
The accused has been identified as Selva Kumar Nadar, owner of Ashtavinayak Investment based in Nucleus Mall, Camp area.
The complaint is filed by Sachin Purshottam Pawar, a resident of Karmabhumi Nagar in Lohegaon, who works at a multinational banking company.
In 2020, Pawar received a call from the firm and they told him that they have tied up with many banking companies in which they take personal loans by the name of clients and invest the money in various schemes and give returns to customers and also pay the EMI.
Police said, the victim was lured with 8-12 per cent of interest rate on the investment and respective EMI’S to be paid by the investment firm. Once Pawar gave consent, the investment firm took multiple loans in his name.
Pawar alleged that, till December 2022, the investment firm was paying his EMI’s but later EMI payment was stopped. When the complainant approached the firm, they told him payment was not done due to system error.
{{/usCountry}}Pawar alleged that, till December 2022, the investment firm was paying his EMI’s but later EMI payment was stopped. When the complainant approached the firm, they told him payment was not done due to system error.
{{/usCountry}}When Pawar repeatedly asked for payment, then accused Nadar gave him cheques in January 2023, which were dishonoured.
Pawar alleged that the investment firm duped him to the tune of ₹36.65 lakh. Later, Pawar came to know that many other investors have experienced the same issue and when they tried to contact the accused his number was not working.
Police said that all investors including Pawar came together and demanded their money back. On February 22, they came to know that, the office of the investment firm had been shut down and they have been duped.
Pawar and 16 others approached Bund Garden police station and registered a first information report (FIR) against Nadar.
Mayoor Vairagkar, assistant police inspector, said, “We have registered a case against the owner of the firm. As per the initial investigation, it was observed that over 200 investors have been duped.”
The owner of the firm, Nadar, was not available for comments. According to police, the accused is untraceable.
A case has been registered under sections 420 (cheating), 406 (criminal breach of trust), 34 (act done in furtherance of a common intention) of the Indian Penal Code, and section 3 of Maharashtra Protection of Interest of Depositors (In Financial Establishments) Act, 1999.