Mumbai: In Navi Mumbai, the Agricultural Produce Market Committee (APMC) Police have booked 19 employees of a financial institution for cheating over 275 investors to the tune of Rs 60.8 lakh. A Navi Mumbai based financial institution, Shakti Multipurpose Society, had promised hefty returns to investors, but failed to deliver on its promises.
When the investors discovered that the company in which the society had invested was a shell company, they approached police on Tuesday and registered a case of cheating against the society. As per police sources, the accused had promised handsome returns for large investments in their financial institution. At least 300 victims fell prey to the con and invested amounts ranging from Rs10,000 to Rs50,000.
The investors were promised good monthly returns as interest and a large sum on the principal amount after the completion of their investment period. However, when some investors decided to withdraw the amount at maturity, they were given the runaround.
Their repeated trips to the office of the financial institution failed to yield dividends, said police. One of the investors, who did not wished to be named, said, “I had invested Rs40,000 in the institution and was supposed to get Rs58,000 in returns in February.
When I went to collect, I was asked to come again, I did, and did so several times afterwards. I was kept waiting and in the first week of April; Shakti Society informed it would not be able to return my money.” He was not alone. Every time he visited the office, there were others like him, making inquiries and returning empty-handed.
Finding themselves in the same boat, the investors decided to get to the bottom of the matter and the independent inquiry they conducted showed the firm in which the society had ‘invested’ was, in fact, a shell company. After realising they were duped and were unlikely to get their money back, the investors approached APMC Police and filed a complaint against the 19 employees of the society.
“We have booked the concerned people but no arrests have been made. We will probe the matter, and take appropriate action after checking the allegations,” said a senior police officer. The society has branches in Pune and Nagpur. Suspectdly, more victims may come forward as probe progresses.
