Amber Dalal, a chartered accountant and investment consultant, has been arrested by the Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of the Mumbai Police in Uttarakhand on charges of orchestrating a massive Ponzi scheme. Dalal allegedly defrauded over 1,000 investors, both within and outside India, of hundreds of crores of rupees.
According to a police official, more than 600 investors have already approached the authorities, asserting losses exceeding Rs 380 crore. The official mentioned that this number is expected to rise significantly as additional victims come forward.
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After being arrested on Tuesday night, Dalal was presented before a court, which extended his police custody until April 1.
“Two mobile phones and a laptop have been seized from Dalal’s possession,” stated Sachin Kadam, a senior inspector from the police’s sales tax unit, as reported by The Indian Express.
Dalal, the owner of Ritz Consultancy Services Company, is accused of running a Ponzi scheme that promised monthly returns of 1.5 per cent to 1.8 per cent to investors. More than 1,023 investors, including individuals from India, UK, US, Australia, China, and Dubai, are said to have been defrauded.
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The Oshiwara police filed a case on March 15 after a complaint was lodged by a Juhu-based fashion designer. According to the complaint, Dalal convinced investors, including the fashion designer, to invest in supposedly risk-free markets with the promise of monthly returns.
The police report states that investors were assured of transparency, with promises of signing a memorandum of understanding.
Notably, actor Annu Kapoor’s family, alongside several others from the film industry, has fallen victim to Dalal’s schemes. Victims, including senior citizens who invested their pension money, range from businessmen to lawyers and chartered accountants.
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Investments varying from Rs 10 lakh to Rs 10 crore were made into Dalal’s schemes, as reported by one victim. The Economic Offences Wing has conducted searches at Dalal’s official and residential premises, freezing over 20 bank accounts associated with him.
Following his five-day custody, authorities are probing where Dalal diverted the funds and how they were utilised, aimed to determine if he wrongfully used investors’ money to acquire properties.
A case has been filed under sections 420, 406, and 409 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) along with sections of the Maharashtra Protection of Interest of Depositors Act.
