IMA scam: ED files money laundering case

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has filed a money laundering case in the ponzi scheme fraud by IMA (I Monetary Advisory) Jewels in Karnataka, officials said on Friday.

The agency filed the case on the basis of the Karnataka Police FIR after it came to light that IMA founder Mohammed Mansoor Khan had disappeared, leaving thousands of investors in panic.

Officials said the Enforcement Case Information Report (ECIR), equivalent to an FIR, has been filed invoking criminal charges under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).

The incident came to light on Monday after an audio clip surfaced, with a person claiming to be Khan saying he is going to commit suicide as he was fed up with corruption. Khan had founded the company to tap the Islamic investment market.

Enforcement Directorate officials said they will investigate the money laundering aspect in the case.

Khan has reportedly left India. The Karnataka government has already handed over the case to a Special Investigation Team (SIT).

The police have so far received complaints from around 26,000 people. Most of the investors in the now-feared defunct group were from the minority community.