15 booked for fake finance fraud. Image for representation.
Credit- iStock Photo
Bhadohi: A case of large-scale financial fraud has come to light where directors of a fake mutual benefit company allegedly duped investors of over Rs 93 crore before fleeing, police here said on Thursday.
An FIR has been registered at Gyanpur police station on Wednesday against 15 directors, including a woman, of the company, 'Very Well Mutual Benefit Nidhi Limited', under Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita section 314(4) (dishonest misappropriation of property).
The complaint was filed by an employee, Rajesh Kumar Maurya.
According to the FIR, Kripa Shankar, his wife Asha Devi, their sons Ravi Anand, Akshay, Suraj and Aman, along with other directors Suhail Ahmad, Anand Srivastava, Daya Shankar, Vimlesh Maurya, Ramesh Maurya, Ved Prakash, Rakesh Verma, Subedar Pal and Suresh Yadav lured investors by promising to double their money through fixed deposits and other schemes floated in the company's name.
After the death of company head Kripa Shankar, his wife and sons allegedly continued operations with other directors and collected deposits amounting to about Rs 93 crore.
Investors who turned up at the Gyanpur office on June 25 to withdraw their matured deposits found the office locked and the directors absconding, Superintendent of Police Abhimanyu Manglik said.
Subsequent inquiries revealed that the company had no official bank account, and the directors had instead floated a front entity named Micro Credit Foundation, opening an account in Indian Bank's Gyanpur branch.
Maurya alleged in his complaint that none of the directors are traceable and demanded attachment of their properties to recover the defrauded money. He claimed the accused enjoyed significant political and social influence in the district.
SP Manglik said the investigation has been handed over to the Gyanpur SHO and assured strict action against the accused.