Mumbai Crime: EOW Arrests Absconding Accused In ₹125 Crore Investment Scam, Court Grants Police Custody Until April 6

Mumbai, April 3: The Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of Mumbai Police has arrested a wanted accused in a multi-crore investment fraud case and secured his police custody till April 6. The accused, identified as Venkatesan K. Udaiyar, was produced before Sessions Court No. 7, designated as the MPID Court in Mumbai, which granted police custody till April 6.

Fraud case and main accused

According to the EOW, the case was initially registered based on a complaint filed by Jaipal Kaundar, who, along with his wife and several other investors, was allegedly duped by the main accused, Ashish Shah.

Shah had claimed that his firm, “Samraysh Traders LLP,” was registered with SEBI and promised investors an 84% return within one year on stock market investments.

Investments and alleged misappropriation

Gaining the complainant’s trust, the accused allegedly collected Rs 1.70 crore from Kaundar and his family, and an additional Rs 9.63 crore from other investors, taking the total amount to Rs 11.34 crore. However, he neither returned the invested amount nor provided any returns, and instead misappropriated the funds for personal gain.

Threats and FIR registration

When the complainant demanded repayment, the accused allegedly issued death threats, prompting the filing of an FIR at Versova Police Station on July 11, 2024, under IPC Sections 406, 409, 420, and 506(2), along with Sections 3 and 4 of the Maharashtra Protection of Interest of Depositors (MPID) Act, 1999.

Probe transferred to EOW

Subsequently, as per orders of the Bombay High Court, the investigation was transferred to the EOW, Mumbai, where the case was re-registered on February 24, 2025.

Assets attached and wider fraud uncovered

During the course of investigation, the EOW has so far attached movable and immovable assets worth Rs 28.24 crore belonging to the accused. Probe findings have revealed that a total of 173 investors were cheated of approximately Rs 125.37 crore.

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Police have identified 14 accused in the case, including 11 individuals and three companies, including Samraysh Traders LLP. A chargesheet has already been filed before the Sessions Court.

Udaiyar, who had been absconding, was arrested on April 2, 2026, and produced before the court, which remanded him to police custody till April 6. Further investigation is underway.

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