The Malad police have booked a purported investment agent, Avinash Gupta, and his associates for allegedly cheating several people with the lure of good returns if they parked their money in ABLC crypto coins in Dubai. The complainant, Ravindra Mishra, and his friends lost Rs 22.66 lakh in the scheme that is said to have been promoted by Miss India Zoya Afroz, and actors Mehak Chahal and Shiva Rindani.
Mishra is a resident of Kalyan East and works for a private pharmaceutical company and has travelled extensively across the country. In 2022, Gupta called Mishra, claiming they had met once for work, and informed him about an investment scheme. Gupta invited Mishra to his office in Malad West, where he introduced him and his friend to ABLC. With a minimum investment of Rs8000, he promised monthly interest rates of 12%, 15%, 18%, and 24%.
Gupta allegedly showed Mishra videos of Afroz and Chahal promoting the scheme. He also boasted about owning various businesses, including a casino in Malaysia, a ‘Mumbai Adda’ hotel in Malaysia, and several hotels in Mumbai. He also claimed to have good contacts in Bollywood. Mishra and his friend invested Rs8,000 each, downloaded the ‘Trust Wallet’ app and created accounts. Gupta asked them to bring in more customers to earn extra. Consequently, Mishra and his friend convinced two more people to invest.
Mishra also agreed to work for Gupta and was sent to Varanasi and Lucknow to convince more people to invest. Gupta also organised a promotional event at a hotel in Juhu, where Afroz and Rindani encouraged people to invest. Once, Mishra’s friend withdrew money via the app, strengthening their trust in the scheme, ultimately investing Rs22.66 lakh.
In January 2023, Mishra attempted to withdraw his money but was unable to do so. When he asked Gupta, the latter evaded him. The cheques Gupta gave to Mishra and other investors also bounced. Eventually, Gupta went into hiding. On July 19, Mishra filed a complaint at the Malad police station, leading to the registration of an FIR under various sections of the Indian Penal Code, along with relevant sections of the Information Technology Act and the Maharashtra Protection of Interest of Depositors Act.
