The Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of the Thane police has arrested five people in connection with an investment-cum-multi-level marketing racket, in which at least nine investors are alleged to have collectively lost over ₹1.5 crore so far.
According to EOW officers, inquiries were initiated into the matter after the investors approached the Kapurbawdi police earlier this year and registered a complaint against directors of a company called Tips Zone Advisory Pvt Ltd.
“The directors enticed the victims into investing money in their companies, telling them that they would get 1% interest on their investment for a period of 200 days. They further told the victims that if they got others to invest in the same companies, their interest would be increased to 300%,” Deputy Commissioner of Police Sanjay Jadhav, Thane EOW, said.
Mr. Jadhav said when there were no returns on the victims’ investments, the accused started evading their queries, and ultimately, the victims registered a complaint. “Based on human intelligence, we arrested one of the directors, Prakash More, at his residence in Khadakpada in Kalyan. Teams were then sent to Gujarat and Delhi to apprehend the other accused,” Mr. Jadhav said.
Over the next two weeks, the EOW arrested Sandip Patil in Thane, Umang Shah and Ajay Zariwala in Gujarat, and Ritesh Patel in Delhi. The police said Mr. Patil was also named as the director of the company, while the money obtained from the investors was diverted into Mr. Shah’s account. The other two accused were involved in the planning and execution of the racket.
“Inquiries so far indicate that the accused have swindled nine victims to the tune of ₹1.5 crore, and this number is expected to rise. We appeal to anyone else who might have lost their money in the racket to approach us and submit formal complaints,” Mr. Jadhav said.
