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New Delhi:
Deposits in bank and demat accounts, apart from cash worth around Rs 37 crore, have been seized by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) as part of a money laundering probe against a Mumbai-based financial consultant and his firm, who are suspected of duping investors of Rs 600. crore through a Ponzi scheme.
The federal agency said on Sunday that the action was taken after conducting raids in the metropolis on June 21 against Amber Dalal and his company Ritz Consultancy Services.
The Money Laundering Enforcement Directorate's case stems from an FIR by the Mumbai Police that accused the Chartered Accountant and his company of taking money from investors through a 'suspected Ponzi scheme that promised high returns'. Dalal “absconded” with this money after filing the first report. Dalal has been found to have raised over Rs 600 crore from 1,300 investors, the ED said in a statement.
He was arrested by the EOW, Mumbai Police and is currently under judicial custody, the report said.
Dalal raised money from investors on the pretext that he had invested the money in nine commodities such as gold, silver, crude oil, natural gas, zinc, lead, nickel, copper, aluminum and their trade, making the capital safe and earning annual returns promised. of 18-22 percent to its investors, the ED alleged.
Using the same modus operandi, he also raised money from investors in the UAE and the US, the report said.
The searches uncovered a network of stockbrokers and investment advisors who offered clients in lieu of commission. It was also found that the payments received from new investments were used to pay out monthly returns to the old investors, the report said.
Dalal “diverted” the money received in Ritz's account to personal accounts, which were then diverted to family members' accounts and used for asset creation, the ED said.
He “moved” around Rs 51 crore to his personal accounts. These funds were used to acquire assets in India and abroad, the report said.
The ED has identified eight such properties in India and two abroad.
'Apart from banking channels, the investments were also made using cash, which was then recorded in books as accommodation details, in collaboration with Mumbai-based jewellers.
“Returns on such cash-based investments were given by hawala operators to investors in India and abroad (including UK, UAE),” the ED said.
Cash, bank deposits and balances in Demat accounts worth Rs 37 crore have been frozen and several incriminating documents and digital devices have been seized during the searches, the report said.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by DailyExpertNews staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
