The Economic Offences Wing (EoW) CID has arrested 59 suspects who were allegedly involved in defrauding gullible people by running non-banking firms and promising them to give high returns on their investments.
On Friday, while releasing a status report on the pace of investigation into the frauds committed by fictitious firms, Inspector-General of Police (IG), EoW CID, N.S. Asiammal, said: “We have taken efforts to arrest suspects and attach their movable and immovable properties. From January this year till May 15, we have registered 19 fresh cases and arrested 49 suspects in those cases for defrauding nearly ₹350 crore. We have arrested 10 more suspects in connection with cases booked in the previous year.”
The EOW registered cases under the provisions of IPC for cheating, criminal breach of trust and other offences under the provisions of Banning Unregulated Deposit Schemes Act, the Reserve Bank of India Act and The Tamil Nadu Protection of Interests of Depositors Act, 1997.
Main suspects, who were main directors or managing directors of Arudhra Gold Trading Pvt. Ltd., Hijau Associates Pvt. Ltd. and LNS International Financial Services have been absconding and suspected to be hiding in foreign countries, Ms. Asiammal said and added that the Red Corner notices were issued through Interpol. The IG added that the depositors who lost their money can reach out to the Economic Offences wing to lodge their complaints.
The police said from September 2020 to May 2022, Aarudhra Gold Trading Pvt. Ltd., which functioned from Aminjikarai, collected deposits totalling ₹2,438 crore from over one lakh investors by offering to give interest from 25% to 30% a month. It failed to give the promised returns and did not return the principal amoung also.
Thirty two persons were cited as suspects in connection with the case and 13 of them had been arrested while eight of them were arrested on Friday. Red Corner notice was issued against the firm’s managing director Rajasekar and his wife Usha Rajasekar.
Another firm called Hijau Associates Private Ltd., which functioned from Kilpauk, allegedly swindled ₹4,400 crore from 89,000 depositors promising high returns. In this case, 17 were arrested while Red Corner notice was issued against the managing director of the firm Alexander, his wife Mahalakshmi Alexander and CEO Inaiya who are abroad. The IG said a chargesheet had been filed in the case.
LNS International Financial Services, which functioned from Guindy, had swindled ₹5,900 crore from 84,000 depositors. Eight of the 24 who were cited in the FIR were arrested while four were abroad.
AMRO Kings Ltd. of Kodambakkam had collected ₹143 crore from 5,745 depositors. ART Jewellers and ART Trusted Profit Company had cheated 427 depositors of ₹6.30 crore. CVRS chits, Cheyyar, Tiruvannamalai district, had cheated 483 depositors of ₹49 crore on the pretext of Deepavali and Pongal chit scheme. All these cases were under investigation, the EOW said.
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