The Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of Cyberabad has arrested two individuals on Saturday in connection with a Rs 850 Crore Ponzi scheme involving the Falcon Invoice Discounting Platform. The accused allegedly deceived the public by persuading them to make short-term deposits with the promise of high returns.
Arrested persons have been identified as Pavan Kumar Odela, Vice President of Capital Protection Force Private Limited and Business Head of Falcon Invoice Discounting Platform and Kavya Nalluri, Director of Capital Protection Force Private Limited and Falcon Capital Ventures Private Limited.
The accused were involved in a large-scale financial fraud amounting to Rs 850 Crore, orchestrated through Falcon Invoice Discounting Platform under Capital Protection Force Private Limited and its associated entities.
The primary accused, Amardeep Kumar (Managing Director, Falcon Capital Ventures Private Limited), along with Aryan Singh (Chief Operating Officer) and Yogender Singh (Chief Executive Officer), lured depositors by promising high returns on short-term deposits under the guise of invoice discounting.
Total deposits collected Rs 1,700 Crore, amount repaid Rs 850 Crore and Outstanding Fraudulent amount is Rs 850 Crore and number of depositors affected is 6,979.
The accused launched a mobile application and website, falsely presenting Falcon Invoice Discounting Platform as a legitimate peer-to-peer invoice discounting service. They claimed to connect depositors with reputed companies such as Britannia, Amazon, and Godrej, while in reality, they fabricated vendor profiles and fake deals to create an illusion of authenticity.
The promised returns are about 11 to 22 percent per annum, deposit range Rs 25,000 to Rs 9,00,000 and maturity period is 45 to 180 days.
Operating since 2021, the accused continuously recruited new depositors to pay returns to earlier investors, forming a classic Ponzi scheme. The funds collected were diverted into various shell companies.
By January 15, 2025, the scheme collapsed, promised returns were halted, and the office was shut down, prompting depositors to file complaints with the police.
The accused had previously engaged in fraudulent activities through Blulife International Company, deceiving the public via a multi-level marketing scheme. A case was registered under Crime No. 126/2022 at Chevella PS, Cyberabad, under IPC Sections 420, 406, 120(B) and the Prize Chits and Money Circulation Schemes (Banning) Act, 1978.
