ED attaches Rs 8.41 crore assets of Bengaluru firm in Ponzi case

New Delhi [India], December 22 (ANI): The Directorate of Enforcement (ED) has attached properties worth Rs 8.41 crore of a Bengaluru-based company in connection with money laundering probe against it in a multi-crore Ponzi or chit fund case.
The attached assets are in the form of two immovable properties (agricultural land and a residential plot) and 14 movable properties (13 bank accounts and 1 Demat Account "held in the name of Ajmera Groups, its partners and others," have been provisionally attached by the probe agency under sections of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), ED said in a statement
The ED said that the case stems from an FIR and charge sheet filed against the company and its promoters Tabrez Pasha, Abdul Dastagir, Tabrez Ulla Shariff, Syed Mudasir, Syed Muthahir and Fairoz Khan for "illegally" collecting funds from 1,148 depositors and "failing" to return Rs 29.17 crore.
The investigating agency further said that the police case was filed against the company under various sections of the Karnataka Protection of Interest of Depositors in Financial Establishments Act, 2004 (KPIDFE) and the Price, Chits and Money Circulating Banning Act of 1978.
"The investigation conducted under PMLA revealed that Ajmera Groups illegally collected deposits amounting to Rs 256.06 crores from various persons by luring the gullible investors with a promise of the higher rate of Interest of upto 20 per cent per month. Such higher rate of interest was not possible in any prudent way and the accused Ajmera Groups failed to return the amount of Rs 29.17 crores to the depositors," it said.
ED further said that "the illegally collected amount was deposited in various bank accounts"
"Investigations further revealed that these amounts were embezzled and transferred to various unrelated accounts of Ajmera Groups or the depositors. These amounts were further invested in immovable and movable properties. On identification of these assets totalling to Rs 8.41 crore held in in the name of Ajmera Groups, a provisional attachment order has been issued under PMLA," it said. (ANI)
Further investigation is in progress, it said. (ANI)