Film producer Vipul Shah duped of 5 cr in iridium scam

A case has been registered here against three persons for allegedly cheating film producer-director Vipul Shah and his business partner of Rs 5 crore by luring them into investing in `iridium business'.

The Nagpur Police's Economic Offences Wing has arrested one person in the case, an official said on Friday.

Similar scams related to the so-called iridium mining business have been reported in the past too.

Vipul Shah is the producer of many Bollywood films including "Singh Is King", "Commando" and "Force".

According to his complaint, the accused approached him and his partner in his film production house, Vinit Singh, sometime in 2010, promising to invest Rs 100 crore in film- production.

The accused told Shah and his partner that they were in the lucrative business of collecting antiques and British- era coins which contain iridium, a rare metal.

Iridium is in great demand for its `supernatural powers' and even the defence forces need it, the accused told Shah and his partner.

They allegedly offered Shah and Singh an opportunity to invest in this business.

Shah said in his complaint that he and his partner travelled all across the country with the accused, spending their own money and even transferring some money to the accused, in connection with the so-called business before they realized that they were being taken for a ride.

They had spent around Rs 5 crore during these travels, Shah told the police.

After Shah lodged a complaint at Ambazari police station here (as he had met the accused for the first time in Nagpur), the EOW arrested one Raj Singh under IPC section 420 (cheating) and other relevant sections.

Two other accused in the case are yet to be arrested.