NRI woman held in ₹6,500-crore Ponzi scheme case

The economic offences wing (EOW) of the Mumbai Police on Monday night arrested a 39-year-old woman who was wanted in the multi-crore Royal Twinkle Star Club (RTSC)

The economic offences wing (EOW) of the Mumbai Police on Monday night arrested a 39-year-old woman who was wanted in the multi-crore Royal Twinkle Star Club (RTSC) investment fraud in which over 18 lakh investors were duped of around ₹6,500 crore, across multiple states.

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Suchitra Omprakash Goyenka, a Dubai non-resident Indian (NRI), had arrived in India to see her parents. As there was a look-out circular (LOC) issued against her, she was nabbed at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport (CSMIA), said an EOW officer.

Earlier, the EOW had arrested three persons in the case, including Goyenka’s father Omprakash Goyenka, the managing director of RTSC, which allegedly lured investors by offering high returns, including free hotel stay packages.

The company allegedly cheated lakhs of investors across Maharashtra, Goa, and Gujarat, between 2008 and 2016.

The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) in August 2015 had imposed a four-year ban on the firm and its four directors for illegally raising crores of rupees in the garb of holiday plans.

Multiple cases were registered against the company in Pune, Nashik, and Mumbai. “In Mumbai’s case, nearly 25,000 complainants had approached the police claiming they had lost over ₹240 crore in the company’s fraudulent schemes. The investors included teachers, businessmen, government employees, farmers, and labourers,” said an officer.

“Goyenka’s name cropped up during the investigation of the case. She is the director of Mira Hospitality and Food Solutions, a beneficiary company in which investors’ money was allegedly routed through other companies. After her role was discovered, on June 21 a LOC was issued against her and on Monday night she was arrested at the airport,” said the investigating officer of the case, requesting anonymity.

“She has been charged under various sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and the Maharashtra Protection of Interest of Depositors’ (MPID) Act. An MPID court remanded her in police custody till September 26,” the officer said.