A well-known finance firm in central Kerala, Popular Finance, which has 247 branches across the state, has closed its operations and moved an application to declare it bankrupt while its two directors fleeing the country were detained by the Delhi police on Friday.
Based on preliminary investigation findings, Pathanamthitta police superintendent KG Simon said that proprietors might have swindled around ₹2,000 crore.
Rinu Mariyam Thomas and Ann Mariyam Thomas, daughters of Managing director Thomas Daniel, were detained at the Delhi international airport while trying to flee to Australia.
The Kerala police had issued a look-out notice against family members on Thursday. A Kerala police team are on their way to Delhi to take their custody.
Police said they received more than 100 complaints and their numbers will grow substantially as most of the investors are NRIs. They said investors had started noticing major changes in the past one week and later some of the officials have left fearing backlash. “We have sealed all offices and frozen bank accounts of family members. We are getting enough complaints from abroad also,” said the SP. The firms had more than 1,500 employees.
Some of the customers said the firm failed to pay interest from April onwards and when they enquired they were told it will be paid after Covid-19 situation normalised. The firm was into gold loan, chitty fund and vehicle financing. There are around 2,000 investors in the firm besides many small-time regular account holders.
{{/usCountry}}Some of the customers said the firm failed to pay interest from April onwards and when they enquired they were told it will be paid after Covid-19 situation normalised. The firm was into gold loan, chitty fund and vehicle financing. There are around 2,000 investors in the firm besides many small-time regular account holders.
{{/usCountry}}“I have deposited my retirement benefit of ₹30 lakh and I was getting 12% interest all these years without any fail. But since April, employees have started behaving indifferently and some of them left without any notice. I don’t have any other means to live,” said one of the investors.
Konni MLA Janeesh Kumar said it was a credible finance firm with more than 50 years of experience and nobody has any idea how it collapsed.
A Thrissur-based firm, Goodwin Jewellers and Financiers, had gone bust in similar fashion in Maharashtra a couple of months back, and later the Mumbai police had arrested two of its directors. Most such firms do attract gullible investors with attractive packages and high-interest rates and later collapse when their money rolling chain breaks.