Speculations mount as investors in Ponzi scheme remain clueless about their money

Four days after the special task force apprehended Anubhav Mittal and his associates for running a Ponzi scheme, investors in the company are still clueless. Many can be seen flocking the company’s Sector 63 office for information about their money.

Four days after the special task force apprehended Anubhav Mittal and his associates for running a Ponzi scheme, investors in the company are still clueless. Many can be seen flocking the company’s Sector 63 office for information about their money.

Investors continue to flock Anubhav Mittal’s office. (Sunil Ghosh/HT)

On Monday, dozens of anxious investors were seen waiting outside Anubhav Mittal’s office in F block of Noida Sector 63. However, the building is in lockdown since Mittal’s arrest.

The lack of information has also given an opportunity to rumourmongers to come up with speculations about the investment.

“Some claim that Mittal has bribed the police and he will eventually fly to Dubai or America with all that money, leaving us, investors, behind. However, I am still waiting for the Enforcement Directorate’s declaration on our money,” Sanjeev Yadav of Dankaur, who had invested ₹2 lakh, said.

Last Thursday, the Uttar Pradesh Special Task Force (UP-STF) arrested Anubhav Mittal, the managing director of Ablaze Info Solutions Private Limited, for duping nearly 7 lakh investors of ₹3,726 crore.

STF officials said that Mittal was running an online trading scam under the cover of a social media firm. His investors were paid ₹5 for every ‘like’ of the pages of advertisers after they had invested a fixed amount. Along with 26-year-old Mittal, Sreedhar Prasad, the chief executive officer, and Mahesh Dayal, the technical head, were also arrested.

Since his arrest, the investors in Mittal’s scheme are in a frenzy. Despite STF asking the victims to lodge a complaint on reportfraud@utstf.com, the investors are still running from pillar to post for information about their money. Some of them have also come out in support of Mittal and said he should be released.

“I had invested around ₹3 lakh in the scheme and everything was going smoothly until the arrest. Now, my money is stuck with the legal procedures and I am sceptical if I will ever get my money back,” Arun Srivastava, of Noida Sector 12, said.

Some investors who are in support of the entrepreneur said that it was a conspiracy by rivals.

“I have been associated with Mittal’s company for the last one year. He grew his company with us and we will stand by him in this hour. It is a conspiracy hatched by rival parties and I am sure that Mittal will emerge victorious and even more confident after the incident,” Pankaj Chauhan of Noida’s Sector 44 said.