SpeakAsia fraud accused nabbed

Mumbai: Six days after arresting his younger brother, the Mumbai EOW and Delhi police in a joint operation arrested SpeakAsia mastermind promoter, Ram Niwas Pal, from Bangalore on Monday. Pal is considered to be number two in the fraud after India operations head Manoj Kumar Sharma.

Pal (41) is accused of amassing more than Rs 300 crore earned fraudulently in the erstwhile SpeakAsia case. “Our team was in touch with the Delhi police and we learnt that Pal was in Bangalore. A trap was laid and we arrested Pal at a time when he was trying to set up his base in Bangalore for another ponzi scheme,” said Rajvardhan Sinha, additional commissioner of police, EOW.

“Pal was in the air force but was deserted after a court martial. Later, he came in touch with people who operate ponzi schemes and started his own scheme in 2003,” added Sinha. Pal is the master planner of the ponzi scheme which left over 24 lakh investors poorer by over Rs 2,276 crore. When the Pal brothers wanted to expand their business, they joined Sharma, who was running Tulsiyat Tech.
Courtesy:
—Mateen Hafeez
http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Default/Scripting/ArticleWin.asp?From=Archive&Source=Page&Skin=TOINEW&BaseHref=TOIM/2013/12/03&PageLabel=3&EntityId=Ar00305&ViewMode=HTML

NSEL Scam: EOW pegs value of seized assets at R2,066 cr

The Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of the Mumbai Police has pegged the preliminary valuation of the seized assets of the 26 defaulters in the National Spot Exchange Limited (NSEL) payment crisis case at Rs 2,066.41 crore.

The seized assets include 173 immovable properties, shares and investments worth Rs 6.5 crore and 15 vehicles.

"The paper or book value of properties that we have attached so far is close to Rs 2,066.41 crore. The current market value of these properties may be higher," said Rajvardhan Sinha, Additional Commissioner of Police, EOW.

EOW is likely to appoint a "recognised and registered valuer" to arrive at the current market valuation of these assets. "It may take about 30 to 40 days for the evaluation to conclude once we appoint a valuer," added Rajvardhan.

NSEL, a subsidiary of Financial Technologies (FTIL), is engulfed in a Rs 5,600-crore payment default crisis since August 2013 after the exchange suspended trading of "paired products".

According to Rajvardhan, so far, total 232 bank accounts with cumulative balance of about Rs 43 crore have been frozen. The accounts include those of NSEL promoters while frozen properties consists of assets of defaulters and arrested former employees of NSEL including ex-MD & CEO Anjani Sinha.

Amongst the prominent defaulters, the estimated value of seized assets of Mohan India, NK Protein, Yathuri Associates, PD Agro and Laxmi Overseas stand at Rs 601 core, Rs 455 crore, Rs 357 crore, Rs 276 crore and Rs 252 crore, respectively.

The EOW also indicated that they are still to study books of some of the smaller borrowers and expect attachment of few more properties. The liquidation process of the seized assets is likely to commence after the charge-sheet is filed in the sessions court and the court begins hearing of the appeal.

Meanwhile, the NSEL investor forum through its members approached the Bombay High Court seeking attachments of FTIL properties.

"They have also requested for stay of sale of any assets of FTIL as well as declaration of dividends until all the money of investors is received," said a press release by the forum. The suit will be heard on Monday, the statement added.

MCX asks members to be alert
New Delhi: Commodity bourse MCX has directed its members to exercise due caution while dealing with 22 firms that have been declared defaulters by crisis hit NSEL. In a directive, MCX said, "Members of exchange are requested to note that the entities mentioned in Annexure I have been declared as defaulters by NSEL..." PTI
Courtesy:
ENS Economic Bureau : Mumbai, Sat Nov 30 2013, 00:59 hrs
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/nsel-crisis-eow-pegs-value-of-seized-assets-at-r2066-cr/1201394/0

Cops seek speaker’s sanction to prosecute Kripa for corruption

Mumbai police write to Speaker Dilip Walse-Patil to invoke the Prevention of Corruption Act against the beleaguered Cong leader

The Mumbai Police has sought the Assembly speaker’s permission to prosecute senior Congress leader Kripa Shankar Singh under the Prevention of Corruption Act, three months after the Supreme Court dismissed his plea seeking stay on the Special Investigation Team (SIT) probe into the allegations.

The Supreme Court had in September directed Police Commissioner Satyapal Singh, who is heading the SIT, to submit a final report or a closure report before a trial court in Mumbai.

Police wrote to Dilip Walse-Patil, the Assembly speaker last week, seeking sanction to proceed against Kalina MLA Singh, who resigned as the city Congress chief last year following allegations of corruption. The Prevention of Corruption Act demands that the investigating agency seeks prosecution sanction from the controlling authority of any public servant against whom it intends to proceed.

According to the Mumbai Police sources, the SIT probe revealed that Singh amassed assets around 20 per cent more that his sources of income.

Satyapal Singh and Walse-Patil remained unavailable for comment, but police sources said a watertight case has been prepared against Singh. “Police have sought permission to prosecute a senior politician, which proves the cops have a strong case,” a source said.

Kripa Shankar Singh’s troubles started in 2010, when activist Sanjay Tiwari filed a complaint against the politician with the state Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB). Not satisfied with the ACB probe, Tiwari filed a public interest litigation in the High Court, which directed the then Police Commissioner Arup Patnaik to register an offence. Kripa Shankar challenged the High Court order in the Supreme Court, which didn't stay the probe but started monitoring the investigation.

THE ALLEGATIONS
Tiwari alleged in his PIL that Kripa Shankar was close to former Jharkhand Chief Minister Madhu Koda, an accused in the multi-crore hawala scam and other corruption cases.

Kripa Shankar’s son Narendra is married to Ankita, daughter of Kamlesh Singh, who was a minister in the Koda-led Cabinet. The PIL alleged that Ankita received Rs 1.75 crore from Kamlesh's bank account, and that there were huge transactions from the bank accounts of Kripa Shankar's wife Malti too.

The PIL, which Kripa Shankar termed “politically motivated”, said that the Congress leader bought a number of properties in a span of just two years (between 2004 and 2006).

In November 2009, Mumbai Mirror revealed thataNaviMumbaipropertyworthRs25crore, in the name of Kripa Shankar's wife, was not mentioned in the affidavit declaring his assets ahead of the 2009 Assembly elections.

The purchase agreement was signed by the power of attorney holder, a constable named Vishnukant Shukla (how does a constable hold the power of attorney for a plot worth Rs 25 crore bought by the Congress leader's wife in 2004, Mumbai Mirror, November 17, 2009).

Kripa Shankar is also accused of not declaring two plots co-owned by his wife, and a duplex apartment in Vile Parle, bought in the name of his wife and son, to which he said the apartment was bought by his son and that his wife's ownership was only nominal.
Courtesy:
Abhijit.Sathe @timesgroup.com TWEET @_abhijit_sathe
http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Default/Scripting/ArticleWin.asp?From=Archive&Source=Page&Skin=MIRRORNEW&BaseHref=MMIR/2013/12/03&PageLabel=6&EntityId=Ar00600&ViewMode=HTML

NSEL scam: Man loses savings, now his father

In what can be called the National Spot Exchange Limited (NSEL) scam's first casualty, an investor lost his 68-year-old father on Thursday, as he couldn't afford the expenses for his heart-valve operation. The man lost all his savings after the company suspended trading on July 31 following a directive from the Union Ministry of Consumer Affairs. NSEL has been unable to settle Rs 5,600 crore dues of 148 members and brokers, representing 13,000 investor-clients.

Matunga resident Ashish Sheth had invested his lifetime savings in NSEL products. "My father was suffering from heart ailments and required to undergo a heart-valve operation. When I approached the hospital, I was told that the cost of the operation would be between Rs 13 lakh to Rs 15 lakh. I couldn't afford the amount since I lost my savings as a result of the NSEL scam," 38-year-old stockbroker told The Indian Express.

"Just a few days ago, he (father Dhirajlal Sheth) told me that the money had been lost so there was no need to run around so much. I had been running in and out of the Economic Offences Wing (EOW) office for the past three months. Now, I have lost him," said an emotional Sheth. He said that he was now worried about his son's future.

"All my money is gone. I am worried about the future of my 21-month-old son," he said. Like Sheth, Ketan Shah (46) had also invested in NSEL, but lost around 50 per cent of his savings. "Sheth and I had invested in NSEL together. While he lost all his savings, I lost half of mine. Even after four months, the guilty are scot-free. The company guaranteed 13 per cent interest on annual investment returns," Shah rued.

Shah, who runs an export business, said he along with Sheth have filed a petition against NSEL and its board of directors in the Bombay High Court. In their petition, both Sheth and Shah urged the court to constitute an inter-governmental group of agencies comprising the EOW, Enforcement Directorate, Income-Tax department and other such agencies to conduct a thorough investigation and to trace the end user of the investors' funds, which have been fraudulently dealt with.

The Bombay High Court had on Wednesday extended the interim anticipatory bail granted to Manish Pandey, North India head of NSEL, by two weeks. It said that the investigating agency should go after the "big fish" involved in the scam and find out where the money lost in the scam had gone.
Courtesy:
aamir.khan@expressindia.com
Mumbai, Sat Nov 30 2013, 02:36 hrs
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/nsel-scam-man-loses-savings-now-his-father/1201469/0

Cops bust another get-rich-quick scheme

MUMBAI: Undeterred by police action against several money-multiplying schemes floated by fly-by-night operators, such companies continue to flourish. The latest is the Andheri-based Car Run Way of India which vanished after collecting more than Rs 5 crore from the public by offering 25% to 40% interest on their investment .

In the past, Sanchayani, Sanjivani, Unique Finance and Sigma Autolink, which floated similar schemes had closed their offices, leaving investors in the lurch. In one of the highprofile cases involving City Limouzine, the Supreme Court is currently hearing an appeal by the state government against the Bombay high court's decision to quash the FIR registered by the Economic Offence Wing (EOW) of the Mumbai police.

Mritunjaya Pande of Car Run Way opened an office at Crystal Plaza, Andheri, in December 2006 and got the firm registered. He opened offices in Bhandup, Vashi and Nashik. The directors of the company included Mritunjaya's brother Rakesh, father Premnarayan and Devang Zaveri.

The company issued newspaper advertisements offering investors 40% more than the investment on maturity or vehicles . For instance, on a deposit of Rs 5 lakh for six months, the company offered Rs 1.25 lakh per month. On a down payment of Rs 8.1 lakh, the company offered Rs 40,500 every month for five years beside a Skoda vehicle at the end of the maturity period.

"The amounts received as down payment or fixed deposits were used to repay the existing investors. In the initial stage, the company did not default, thus attracting investors . In the banking industry, it is not possible to sustain the payments and the promoters close down the offices and vanish ,'' a police officer said.

In April, cheques issued by the company bounced and a month later, they closed down their offices and vanished.

The police subsequently arrested three persons, Nitin, Devang and Nitin Ahire and recovered five vehicles totally valued at Rs 37.75 lakh. The police also froze Rs 72,000 lying in various accounts.

CITY LIMOUZINE CASE
City Limouzine has argued in the SC that a dispute between investor and company is governed by the Companies Act and cannot be investigated by the police. It also said families of police personnel have invested in such schemes offering high interest. City Limouzine, promoted by Sayed Masood, had offered investors a return of 48% on their investments and said it would be invested in buying Maruti cars, which were to be registered in the name of investors. In September 2007, the EOW registered a case of cheating. In March, a division bench comprising Bilal Nazki and S A Bobde quashed the FIR, saying there has been no intention to defraud at the time of inception of execution of the agreement.
Courtesy:
C Unnikrishnan, TNN Sep 5, 2008, 06.24am IST
http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2008-09-05/mumbai/27899521_1_police-officer-schemes-cops-bust

330cr con probe: Central agencies to be roped in

Mumbai: The crime branch of Mumbai police will seek assistance from central government agencies in an investigation into a complaint by HSBC in respect of a Rs 330 crore fraud by a city-based company.

HSBC has alleged that Mumbai-based Avitel Post-Studioz Ltd, with its sister companies in Dubai and Mauritius respectively, made a false representation that it had won a contract from the BBC (British Broadcasting Corporation) to upgrade the broadcaster’s library from 2D to 3D format.

HSBC said the company raised funds on the pretext of purchasing required equipment to fulfill the contract. A police officer said that HSBC accused the company of misleading it at every stage. The fraud included arranging a meeting of HSBC’s official with a conman in London posing as a BBC representative. Following the investment, HSBC discovered that no contract was awarded by BBC to Avitel. All the documents were found to be forged.

A crime branch officer said, “The fraud money transaction investigation involves overseas countries and we are planning to ask central government agencies for their assistance.” He added that there is a likelihood of foreign nationals being involved and the police was ascertaining their role.

Avitel has its offices at Mahim and at JVPD in Vile Parle (W). On Wednesday, both the offices were open but the employees refused to comment on the issue, saying they were not authorized to do so. Although employees said that a spokesperson would provide the company’s version, no statement was forthcoming until late Wednesday. HSBC, too, refused to comment over the issue.

The private equity arm of HSBC had made public its investment in Avitel in June 2011.
Courtesy:
Vijay V Singh TNN
http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Default/Scripting/ArticleWin.asp?From=Archive&Source=Page&Skin=TOINEW&BaseHref=TOIM/2013/04/25&PageLabel=4&EntityId=Ar00404&ViewMode=HTML

In elaborate con, city firm dupes HSBC of 330cr

Mumbai: The Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of the Mumbai police has registered a Rs 330-crore cheating and forgery case against a city-based company and its representatives for securing investment from multinational banking major HSBC with fake promises in the last three years.

Mumbai-based Avitel Post-Studio Ltd, which has two sister companies in Dubai and Mauritius, told the bank that they had entered into a contract with BBC (British Broadcasting Corporation) to upgrade their entire library in London from 2D to 3D format. The accused wanted to purchase technical equipment and software for the conversion and sought money from the bank. They submitted documents on the basis of which the bank invested in their company. Although the money trail from the bank to the company is not clear at present, HSBC later learned that the submitted documents had been forged. It then approached the Mumbai police for help.

Joint commissioner of police (crime), Himanshu Roy, said, “Prima facie, it’s a case of cheating. We will investigate further.”

Bengal chit fund boss held in J&K I n a major breakthrough in the West Bengal chit fund scam, Saradha Group boss Sudipta Sen, accused of defrauding investors of crores of rupees, was on Tuesday arrested from a plush hotel in Sonmarg in J&K along with Saradha Group executive director Debjani Mukherjee and senior official Arvind Chauhan. The trio had fled Kolkata on April 10.

Not clear how bank was taken in by con
Mumbai: City-based company Avitel Post-Studio Ltd had approached HSBC in 2010 asking the bank to invest in its upgradation project for BBC. Its ‘officials’ allegedly even arranged the bank representative’s meeting with an executive who claimed that he was representing BBC.

It’s not clear where the meeting took place and how the bank was convinced about the BBC representative’s genuineness.

Afterwards, the accused insisted that the bank disburse part of the required money immediately as they needed to pay their principal supplier. They submitted their company’s forged papers to the bank after which it invested in their company.

The bank later made enquiries with the BBC and found that they had not awarded any contract to the accused. The bank also found that the BBC representative who met them was a conman and all the submitted documents were forged.

On Tuesday, an EOW officer visited D N Nagar police station along with the legal advisor of HSBC and registered the case. The case has been transferred to the EOW for further investigation.

Additional commissioner of police (EOW) Rajwardhan Sinha said, “The accused produced a fake agreement and documents to cheat the bank. We have registered a case against certain persons and during investigation if we come to know that more accused involved in the fraud, we will book them in the case.”
Courtesy:
Vijay V Singh TNN
http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Default/Scripting/ArticleWin.asp?From=Archive&Source=Page&Skin=TOINEW&BaseHref=TOIM/2013/04/24&PageLabel=6&EntityId=Ar00103&DataChunk=Ar00604&ViewMode=HTML

Double Money Scam - Developer who duped people of Rs 100 cr held

Sandeep Shukla, a developer wanted by Mumbai police for allegedly duping investors to the tune of around Rs 100 crore, was arrested by Delhi Police on Tuesday. Shukla was on the run for the past two years, and the city police have already contacted their counterparts in Delhi, seeking his custody.

Shukla had floated several real estate-related investment schemes, wherein people were lured to invest in housing projects in Karjat, Murbad, Kalyan, Kasara and Neral. Shukla went missing once the schemes went bust, but cops managed to arrest his brother Manoj and a relative.

A source from Mumbai Police’s Economic Offences Wing (EOW) said, “We suspect the money was invested in movies.”

Shukla launched a firm titled Aurum Realty, through which he floated housing projects at Kasara and Karjat. Later, he launched another firm,YescubeInfrastructure,seeking investments in weekend homes project at Neral, Murbad and Kalyan.

A real estate source said, “The investment offers were very lucrative. Anyone investing Rs 1 lakh was promised Rs 1.75 lakh as returns by the end of the year, besides a 300 sq ft space in these projects.”

Shukla even roped in singer-actor Himesh Reshamia to promote his schemes, which received good response, with close to 7000 investors puttinginmoneyintheprojects.Initially, investors received returns, but when a large number of them did not get their money back, a police complaint was filed.

Sandeep has been found to have launched another company to produce films. The EOW has booked Sandeep and others for cheating and criminal conspiracy.

Courtesy:
Mumbai Mirror Bureau, mirrorfeedback@indiatimes.com
http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Default/Scripting/ArticleWin.asp?From=Archive&Source=Page&Skin=MIRRORNEW&BaseHref=MMIR/2012/12/05&PageLabel=13&EntityId=Ar01300&ViewMode=HTML