Pune: Chargesheet in ₹300 Cr Personal Loan Fraud That Led To A Suicide

A voluminous 4,200-page chargesheet has been filed by the Pune police's Economic Offences Wing (EOW) in the Rs300 crore scam run by absconding fugitive couple Selva and Sneha Nadar, who allegedly induced 273 IT professionals to take personal loans ranging between Rs30 lakh and Rs1 crore beyond their repayment capacities and invest in Ashtavinayak Investment from August 2020 to November 2022.

Chargesheet has 8 accuseds

The chargesheet has named eight accused, including Nadar's wife Sneha. The chargesheet filed in the Pune session court details the deceptively simple yet devastatingly effective modus operandi employed by Selva Nadar to convince the loan-seeking youths to invest in Ashtavinayak, promising attractive returns of 6-12% during the pandemic when the fixed deposit returns were as low as 5%.

He thereby diverted the loans to be invested back into his own company and abruptly shuttered it and vanished, leaving a trail of financial ruin behind.

Nadar and his wife are absconding

Prabhat Ranjan of Kharadi, who owed six different banks Rs88 lakh, ended his life and blamed Nadar and three others in his note which led to the registration of an abetment of suicide offence.

While Nadar and his wife are absconding, three other associates namely Prasad Shinde, Ajay Khadse, and Nitin Shinde involved in getting clients for Ashtavinayak and processing the loans were arrested after Rajan’s suicide in July 2023.

Nadar had also offered unsuspecting youths salary support of three months in case of a job loss and insurance cover for the 'profile investor'. The victims received a monthly sum to service their loan instalments but the payments ceased abruptly in November 2022. On February 22, 2023, Nadar clandestinely shut down the office, leaving behind distraught victims in his wake.

Selva Nadar exploited gaps in banking system

Police investigation revealed Selva Nadar exploited gaps in the banking system and procedural concessions that are granted to ‘privileged clients’ with 'high incomes and trusted employers' to Direct Sales Agent (DSA) who were given Rs25,000-Rs27,000 for each loan file cleared. The probe identified officials of 27 banks that bypassed the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) rules to approve loans taken by Ashtavinayak investors.