Tea vendor was IMA director but did not quit old biz

A tea vendor at the Shivajinagar bus stand was one of the directors in the scam-hit IMA Group.

He continued his usual business even after assuming charge, the Special Investigation Team (SIT) has learnt.

A source in the SIT said that it was a deliberate strategy adopted by IMA founder Mohammed Mansoor Khan to impress his investors as well as detractors.

Khan picked the little-known tea vendor as his director so as to cover up his business actions from the outside world.

"The tea vendor hardly knew his responsibilities on the IMA board. His engagement was limited to attending the meetings whenever summoned by Khan," an SIT officer told DH, quoting the tea vendor's statement.

Khan launched I Monetary Advisory (IMA) in 2006 after returning from Saudi Arabia and frequented the tea vendor's shop along with his son. "The vendor was initially taken on board as an investor and later made a director," the SIT officer said.

The vendor claimed to have had no role in the IMA fraud saying he was not privy to the decisions taken by Khan, the SIT said.