Mumbai Police book 3 for duping 19 people of ₹1 crore in investment fraud

Sir JJ Marg police are on the lookout for three men who have been booked for allegedly duping 19 people of ₹1 crore though a fraudulent investment scheme. The victims

Sir JJ Marg police are on the lookout for three men who have been booked for allegedly duping 19 people of ₹1 crore though a fraudulent investment scheme. The victims were promised that they would earn double the amount they invested in a period of nine months in the scheme. The police suspect that the trio may have duped many more people, but they may have not filed a police complaint.

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The complainant in the case, 45-year-old Naeem Ismail Shaikh, is a businessman from Teli Mohalla, Nagpada.

In his complaint (of which HT has a copy), Shaikh said that in 2017 a man named Haji Nasib Ali, whom he knew through his business contacts, informed the complainant about a “money doubling scheme”.

Ali told Shaikh that he knew two people, identified as Amir and Rizwan, who can double the investment money in three months. The police have not disclosed the real names of the accused.

At first, Shaikh did not believe Ali, but later he told the complainant that Amir and Rizwan own a big tool cutting store at Chor Bazaar. After Ali told him that he himself got his money doubled through the scheme, Shaikh decided to invest money in the scheme. In January 2017, Ali introduced Shaikh to Amir and Rizwan.

Shaikh again invested money in the scheme and also informed his relatives and friends about it, following which seven more people invested their money. However, Amir and Rizwan told them that they would get the money doubled in nine months on this occasion.

However, after nine months, when the investors did not get their money back, they tried to contact the three accused. At first they kept delaying the payment and later stopped answering the calls. The investors also discovered that the shop that Ali said belonged to Amir and Rizwan was actually owned by someone else.

After trying to contact them for several months, Shaikh finally lodged a police complaint against the three.

“We have registered a case of cheating and investment fraud worth ₹40 lakh against the accused. We also have information that there are other people who have been duped by the three and a total of 19 complainants have been duped of ₹ 1 crore. We will arrest the accused soon,” said a Sir JJ Marg police officer, who is a part of the investigation.

“I had to close my business owing to the lockdown and the money lost owing to this fraudulent scheme. I suspect that Ali was fully aware of the plot and is involved in the crime. He is also not answering my calls,” said Shaikh.

The three have been booked for cheating and criminal breach of trust under sections 406, 420 and 34 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and sections 3 and 4 of the Maharashtra Protection of Interest of Depositors (MPID) Act.