The Ministry of Corporate Affairs has ordered a probe into the dealings of an entity of the IMA Group, which is under the scanner in a multi-crore Ponzi scam, the Union government said Monday. 

Minister of State for Finance Anurag Thakur said the Registrar of Companies, Bengaluru, had received a complaint against IMAIP Bullion and Trading LLP for collecting funds from the public by inducting them as partners in the limited liability partnership firm. 

Based on the RoC report, the ministry has ordered an investigation against the company, he said in a written reply to a question in the Lok Sabha. 

Depositors from Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra and even Delhi are said to have fallen into the trap of the scam allegedly pulled by the IMA Group. 

The Karnataka police’s Special Investigation Team has arrested 18 people in connection with the scam.