Mumbai, March 6: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) conducted searches at eight locations in Mumbai and Chennai on February 27 in connection with a money-laundering probe involving the alleged fraudulent sale of unlisted shares of National Stock Exchange of India (NSE).
Searches conducted under PMLA
The searches were carried out by the agency’s Headquarter Investigation Unit (HIU) under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) in connection with entities including Atum Capital Private Limited, Optimus Financial Solutions Pvt Ltd, Babli Investment Pvt Ltd and Supremus Angel.
According to the ED, the probe has revealed an alleged cartel involving these firms, along with its directors including Satish Kumar, Sanjay Damani, Niraj Nisar, Krish Vohra, Manish Soni and Nisha Kumari, who allegedly lured investors by claiming they held unlisted shares of NSE and would transfer them after receiving advance payments.
Investors allegedly misled with promise of unlisted shares
However, the ED investigation found that the accused allegedly did not possess any unlisted shares of the exchange. Investigators said investors were induced to enter into share purchase agreements at a premium and pay large advance amounts on the promise of future transfer of shares.
Since NSE shares are not listed on any stock exchange, such transactions are not regulated through exchange mechanisms, a gray area the accused allegedly exploited to carry out the fraud.
Funds routed through multiple accounts
Officials said the funds collected from investors were routed through multiple bank accounts and allegedly used to acquire movable and immovable assets. During the searches, investigators seized property-related documents, digital records and other incriminating material, which are currently under examination to determine the full scale of the alleged fraud.
Bank and demat accounts frozen
The agency has also frozen several bank and demat accounts linked to the accused under Section 17(1A) of the PMLA. These include accounts associated with Satish Kumar, Sanjay Damani, Atum Capital Private Limited, Optimus Financial Solutions Pvt Ltd and Babli Investment Pvt Ltd, which officials said contained suspected proceeds of crime.
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Investigators added that multiple complaints have been filed by victims across the country against the accused entities. While some complaints are being examined, FIRs are yet to be registered in certain cases by local law enforcement agencies. Further investigation is underway.
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