ED attaches assets worth Rs 4.76 cr of Mumbai based firm in Ponzi scheme case

Dec 30, 2020

New Delhi [India], December 30 : The Directorate of Enforcement (ED) has provisionally attached immovable and movable properties totaling Rs 4.76 crores of a Mumbai based firm under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 (PMLA) in a case relating to Ponzi Scheme.
The ED in a statement said that it has attached assets include flat, office premise, fixed deposits and bank balances of the Mumbai based company named Shree Om Sainath Construction Pvt Limited and other individuals related to its director Roopesh Verma
The agency said that the investigation under PMLA was initiated on the basis of two FIRs registered by Police Station, Barakhamba Road, New Delhi under sections 406 (criminal breach of trust), 420 and 120B of the Indian Penal Code.
The FIRs were registered on the complaint by various investors across the country alleging that Shree Om Sainath Car On Rent Pvt. Limited has "duped them by alluring them under a Ponzi Scheme disguised as 'Car Rental and Resort Scheme'."
"Shree Om Sainath Car On Rent Pvt. Limited attracted investments from public by promising them an exorbitant return on their investment in its Car Rental and Resort Scheme. Investors came to know that they have been cheated when their post-dated cheques got dishonoured due to insufficient balance," the ED said.
The investigation by ED under PMLA revealed that Shree Om Sainath Car on Rent Pvt. Ltd. and its director Roopesh Verma by way of criminal activity related to scheduled offenses has acquired a huge sum of money from public/investors, which was illegally diverted for purchasing properties in the name of Shree Om Sainath Construction Pvt. Ltd and other individuals.
The identified Proceeds of Crime worth Rs 4.76 crores diverted in such manner have been provisionally attached under PMLA, the ED said.
Further investigation is in progress.