Gurgaon: Prominent financier arrested for defaulting crores

Owes almost ₹300cr to various investors. Business hit after realty slowdown, demonetisation

A prominent Gurgaon-based financier, who has been in the business for 35 years, was arrested on Tuesday for failing to return money to a large number of people, who had deposited it with him, in lieu of interest.

Tribhuvan Parnami (centre) has major interests in finance, real estate and auto-finance in Gurgaon.

Tribhuvan Parnami, who has major interests in finance, real estate and auto-finance in the city, was arrested by the economic offences cell of Gurgaon police on the complaint of one Amit Sharma, who had deposited around ₹52 lakh with his firm.

A case was registered against him under sections 420, 406 and 506 of the Indian Penal Code at the New Colony police station. The police said Parnami was arrested on charges of cheating and defrauding a large number of depositors.

The accused was produced in court on Wednesday and remanded to three-day police custody.

According to sources, the entire amount that Parnami owes could be close to ₹300 crore as he had been in the business for the last three decades and a majority of investors in Gurgaon had deposited money with him.

“Parnami was dealing in amounts ranging from ₹ 1 lakh to several crores. These investments included large amounts in black. The business took a hit after demonetisation, as people stopped depositing money. I have had no problems in the last two decades, but in the last two years, things have become difficult. My ₹15 lakh are stuck with his firm,” said a Gurgaon resident, who knows the businessman well.

An erstwhile Gurgaon resident, who is now based in Canada, is said to have invested ₹6 crore in his firm, and has now lodged a complaint for default. Parnami would offer 12% to 15% interest to depositors, so they would invest with him, said a victim.

Meanwhile, in his complaint to the police, Amit Sharma, a resident of Nirvana Country, said that he had given Parnami a friendly loan of ₹ 52 lakh at 1.5% per annum.

“Despite repeated complaints and requests, the firm has refused to return my money and not even paid the interest. I have been staying with my parents and my financial condition is in bad shape. I requested the firm to return my remaining ₹36 lakh, but they threatened me,” Sharma told the police in his complaint.

Apart from demonetisation, another reason that may have led to Parnami’s default was his large investments in the real estate industry in Gurgaon, Jhajjar, Dubai, and even Morocco.

With money stuck in properties that are neither selling nor appreciating, it became impossible for the businessman to honour his costly bets, which led to the defaults, said Parnami’s business associates.

“The financier was arrested after a complaint was lodged by a depositor. He was produced in the court today and taken on remand for questioning,” said Ravinder Kumar, public relations officer, Gurgaon police. During the initial probe, the police found that money was directly transferred to Parnami’s account and a large number of investors are likely to take a hit due to this.