Probe into ponzi scam slows down

Probe into the multi-crore Vikram Investment scam where celebs and sports stars were cheated has hit a new low with the delay in filing the charge-sheet and the accused free on bail.

Only three policemen at the Economics Offences Department (EOD) at the CID — an inspector, a computer engineer and an office assistant — are probing the case in which 520 complaints were filed and 21 FIRs registered in various police stations.

Five men — Raghavendra Srinath M, Narasimha Murthy, Prahalada, Nagaraj KS and Sutram Suresh — are accused of swindling Rs 470 crore. Investors who lost their money include former India cricket captain Rahul Dravid, shuttler Saina Nehwal and former star

The case so far

Case registered in March 2, 2017 four months no charge-sheet in the case There are only three staffs to investigate Rs 470 crore scam Rahul Dravid, Saina Nehwal, Prakash Padukone duped in the ponzi firm. All five accused in the case were out on bail

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The probe might take a long time to reach the charge-sheeting stage since officials did not receive the copies of the complaints filed at various police stations.

Owner of Balaji Agarbatti Company, PR Balaji, the first to file the police complaint with Banashankari police station, alleged nearly 800 people have lost their deposits at Vikram Investment Company. Balaji and his brother had invested Rs 11.74 crore.

A senior CID police official said investigators have written to the State Bank of India to share details of the transactions to the SBI account to which investors had transferred money.

Meanwhile, all the five accused men are out on bail despite being booked in non-bailable sections of the IPC.

They were booked under Sections 403 (Dishonest misappropriation of property), 406 (criminal breach of trust) and 420 (cheating). But they secured bail stating that punishments for these offences are within seven years.

Hemanth Nimbalkar, IGP (Economic Offences), CID, expressed doubts that investors in Vikram Investment Company could recover their money. In mega scams like Agri-Gold or Dreamz infra, the money is invested in properties. Depositors can expect to get back their money after the properties are sold.

Agri-Gold, for instance, has Rs 16,000 crore worth of properties, while the amount owed to investors is only Rs 6,000 crore. “The properties can be auctioned and money could be returned,” Nimbalkar said.

Owners of Vikram Investment Company, on the other hand, did not buy properties or invested the depositor’s money in anything. “So, in this case, it’d be difficult to get (the depositors’) money,” he said.

Nimbalkar also asked people to be cautious while investing their hard-earned money in financial companies.