Bank Fraud

CA arrested for Rs 1100 Crore Investment Fraud


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Amber Dalal, a chartered accountant and financial consultant based in Mumbai, has been arrested for engaging in an investment fraud scheme. According to a chargesheet prepared by the Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of the Mumbai police, Dalal has deceived a staggering 2,009 investors, defrauding them of approximately Rs 1,100 crore over the course of 14 years.

After three months of investigation, the EOW submitted a comprehensive 44,000-page chargesheet against Dalal to the Maharashtra Protection of Interest of Depositors (MPID) court on Friday. The chargesheet, transported in six trunks via a separate vehicle from the EOW’s Mazgaon office in Fort to the court, includes detailed accounts from numerous witnesses, including former employees of Dalal’s firm, Ritz Consultancy Services.

Given that the police have meticulously included information regarding all investor transactions directly or indirectly associated with Dalal, the chargesheet spans thousands of pages. Additionally, the police have attached a preliminary audit report conducted by a forensic auditor, with the final report still pending.

Upon receiving the final report, the EOW may file a supplementary chargesheet against Dalal, who is currently the only accused who has been arrested in connection with the case. Furthermore, the police are in the process of recording statements from key witnesses under the provisions of Section 164 of the Code of Criminal Procedure.

Dalal allegedly enticed investors with the promise of monthly returns ranging from 1.5 to 1.8 percent on their investments. He deceived them by claiming that their money would be further invested in the trading of risk-free commodities. Starting in 2016, Dalal only accepted investments exceeding Rs 10 lakh. Until February of this year, he consistently provided regular interest payments to investors. However, between March 10-13, he defaulted on payments and subsequently went into hiding on March 14.

After evading the police for 12 days, Dalal was apprehended on March 26 at a hotel in Rishikesh, Uttarakhand. The EOW has managed to identify properties worth Rs 17 crore that belong to Dalal. These assets, including his current residence in Oshiwara where his family resides, two under-construction flats in Goregaon, two four-wheelers, gold jewelry worth Rs 28 lakh, and a plot in Thane, will be seized and auctioned under the supervision of the court in order to recover the investors’ money, as per the provisions of the MPID Act.

During the interrogation, Dalal admitted to the investigators that his trading formulas and methods failed due to the market downturn caused by the Covid-19 outbreak. Consequently, he was unable to fulfill his financial obligations to his investors. EOW officers have stated that as more details regarding Dalal’s properties come to light, supplementary chargesheets will be filed.

Dalal faces charges under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and the MPID Act, including cheating, criminal breach of trust, and investment fraud, among others. The investigation and preparation of the chargesheet were carried out under the guidance of senior officers, with EOW unit-12 senior inspector Sachin Kadam and his team leading the efforts. At present, Dalal remains in judicial custody awaiting further legal proceedings.

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