Central Bureau of Investigation Takes Over Major Investment Fraud Case
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has initiated a significant legal action, registering a formal case against a total of 46 individuals. Among the accused are prominent Bollywood actors Shreyas Talpade and Alok Nath, who served as brand ambassadors for the company at the heart of the scandal. The case alleges that the group collectively duped numerous investors across multiple states of approximately Rs 100 crore by luring them with promises of exceptionally high returns on their investments.
The Fraudulent Scheme and Its Operation
The entity central to this scandal is the Loni Urban Multi-state Credit & Thrift Cooperative Society. The CBI's case, filed by its Dehradun office on November 26, is a consolidation of 18 separate First Information Reports (FIRs) that were previously registered by the Uttarakhand Police over the last few years. This action was taken in direct compliance with an order from the Uttarakhand High Court dated September 17, which was issued during the hearing of Public Interest Litigations (PILs) concerning the matter.
The High Court had explicitly directed the federal agency to take over the investigation of all criminal cases linked to the company within Uttarakhand. The CBI FIR noted that due to the similar nature of allegations across the various police cases, they were being merged into a single, comprehensive investigation.
Key Accused and Modus Operandi
Beyond the two actors, the CBI's list of the 46 accused includes the company's owner, Sameer Agrawal, its chairperson Dinesh Singh, director Vinita Bhatt, and a well-known financial advisor, RK Shetty, who is the CMD of a financial services firm.
According to the investigation, the company commenced its operations in Uttarakhand in 2019. It rapidly expanded its reach by opening an extensive network of 35 branches across the state. Its primary strategy was to attract investors by promoting investment schemes that promised attractive and high returns. A police officer involved in the initial probe revealed that a significant number of the investors who fell victim to this fraudulent scheme were homemakers and working women who invested their savings. The fraudulent activities of the company are also suspected to have impacted investors in other states, including Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Maharashtra.
The charges outlined in the FIR are severe and extensive, including cheating, criminal breach of trust, organised crime, and forgery under relevant sections of the BNS, IPC, Banning of Unregulated Deposit Schemes (BUDS) Act, and the UPID Act.
Prior Actions and Wider Implications
This is not the first legal challenge for the accused. In a related development from October, an FIR was registered at the Baghpat police station against 22 people, including Talpade and Nath, concerning a multi-crore investment fraud. In that instance, over 500 investors came forward, claiming they were cheated out of more than Rs 5 crore by the same Loni Urban Multi-State Credit and Thrift Cooperative Society, which had guaranteed to double their money within a five-year period.
Earlier, during its probe into the 18 initial cases, the Uttarakhand state police had already filed chargesheets in 10 of them, indicating the substantial amount of evidence gathered against the operation.
The CBI's involvement marks a significant escalation in the pursuit of justice for the hundreds of victims who placed their trust and their money in what has been exposed as a sophisticated and widespread financial scam.
