₹500cr Ponzi scam: Investor money diverted for MD’s use

Mumbai

: The city EOW, probing the Rs 500-crore cheating case by businesswoman Nowhera Shaikh, on Tuesday filed a more than 3,000-page chargesheet against her. The chargesheet says Shaikh used a couple of accounts to collect investments from investors and diverted that money to other companies for her use.


On October 23, the EOW registered an FIR against Shaikh, MD of Heera Group of Companies, and others after a Bhendi Bazar resident, Shane Ilahi Shaikh, complained that he had invested Rs 6 lakh in Heera Gold scheme but the company defaulted on payments. The complainant told the police he was promised up to 42% annual returns on his investment. There are around 10,000 investors in Mumbai alone who have been duped by Shaikh. Heera Group agents would mostly target Muslim investors by claiming that the scheme gives a monthly profit and not interest (Interest cannot be accepted in Islam).

“During our probe it has been established that Shaikh ran a Ponzi scheme. We have filed a chargesheet,” said EOW chief Vinay Choubey.

The city EOW brought Shaikh to Mumbai on October 26 from a Hyderabad jail and arrested her. “We have found flow of funds in Shaikh’s personal bank accounts. It has also transpired that four of her companies had no permissions from RBI and Sebi to collect deposits,” said an officer. More than 250 victims’ statements have been attached in the chargesheet. Those named as accused in the FIR include Nowhera Shaikh and several agents.

EOW officers said they have identified 200 bank accounts belonging to Shaikh and her firms. “We have got financial transaction details of more than 75 accounts so far. The total money in these accounts is around Rs 17 crore,” said the officer. The EOW has identified six properties belonging to the firm worth Rs 40 crore. These properties are likely to be attached and later auctioned by the competent authority to recover money for distribution among the investors. The EOW has also appointed forensic auditors in this case.

Shaikh lured investors claiming she had taken a diamond mine on lease in South Africa and later, said she was buying gold from foreign countries for the schemes. However, investigators have found that she had been buying gold from two Mumbai jewellers. Similar cases of cheating have been registered against her in Hyderabad, Aurangabad, Malegaon, Nerul, Kashimira, Thane, Bhiwandi, etc.