Additional investigation in opposition to sure officers, beneficiaries is on: Official (Representational)
New Delhi/Lucknow:
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Monday hooked up property price over Rs 103 crore in reference to its cash laundering probe into the Noida ”bikebot” ponzi scheme case, officers stated.
Twenty-six immovable properties price Rs 101.45 crore, and financial institution stability totalling Rs 2.28 crore in 22 accounts have been hooked up provisionally beneath the Prevention of Cash Laundering Act (PMLA) by the Lucknow zonal workplace of the company, they stated.
The Larger Noida-headquartered Bike Bot taxi service is accused of duping about Rs three,000-Rs four,000 crore from 2.25 lakh traders in a number of states together with Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Haryana.
“Additional investigation in opposition to sure officers and beneficiaries is constant and extra attachments might be finished on this case shortly,” ED Joint Director (Lucknow zone) Rajeshwar Singh stated.
The ED had booked the corporate that ran the alleged ponzi scheme — Garvit revolutionary Promoters Ltd (GIPL) — and its promoter Sanjay Bhati and others beneath the PMLA in June final 12 months after going by a number of FIRs filed in opposition to them by the Noida police.
As per the ED, the corporate and its promoters had “floated extremely profitable funding plans within the guise of a motorbike taxi service within the identify of ”bike bot” the place a buyer may put money into 1, three, 5 or 7 bikes which might be maintained and operated by the corporate and the investor can be paid month-to-month hire, EMI and bonuses (in case of funding in a number of bikes) and additional incentives on including extra traders in a binary or multi-level advertising construction.”
“The corporate allotted franchises in numerous cities however the bike taxi hardly operated in these cities. The plans have been floated in August, 2017 and the gathering of cash from traders or clients and repayments to them continued until early 2019.”
“In November 2018, the corporate floated comparable plans for e-bikes stating that the petrol bikes have been going through points concerning registration and operation,” it stated.
The funds so collected have been used for compensation to the sooner traders much like that in a ponzi scheme, the ED alleged.
It alleged that the promoters indulged in acquisition of different firms, buy of a resort in Kullu (Himachal Pradesh) for creation of varied immovable and movable property within the identify of varied firms and likewise transferred funds to numerous different firms and people as loans and investments with out correct documentation.
The company had additionally recorded statements of Sanjay Bhati and others who have been arrested within the case.
It had carried out raids on this case in February and surveyed a co-operative financial institution in Noida which “revealed a number of suspicious transactions and the position of the banking officers in aiding and abetting the accused in laundering of the general public cash.”
At the least 19 immovable properties positioned in Gautam Buddh Nagar, Ghaziabad, Bulandshahar, Kanpur and Indore within the identify of the corporate have been recognized by the company.
“Seven different properties within the identify of third events have additionally been ascertained and verified,” the ED stated.
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