50 lakh investors duped for Rs 7000 crore in Mumbai

A PanCard Clubs (PCL) case in Mumbai has duped more than 50 lakh investors. The economic offenses wing (EOW) has taken over the probe into the case. All the investors put together have been duped of more than Rs 7,000 crore.

EOW has registered this case under the Indian Penal Code. The agency has also invoked sections of the Maharashtra Protection of Interest of Depositors (MPID) Act against PCL and its directors. The market regulator SEBI has appointed a retired judge to sell PCL’s properties and process the refund to investors who had put money in the company’s schemes.

A 42-year-old resident of Dadar registered the police complaint for being scammed for Rs 40,000. The company used to enroll members and ask them to invest. Their popular scheme was for hotel stays. PCL used to offer holiday packages at these hotels. The company was running a collective investment scheme (CIS) without Sebi’s approval.

Several investors that were promised higher returns did not avail the offered holiday packages and complained about the same. That’s when the inquiry began and matter came into the picture. In order to run a collective investment scheme (CIS), companies need a prior approval from Sebi. PCL and its directors did not have any permission to run this scheme. 

The reports reveal an interesting fact that only 1% of the total investors had availed the facility of holiday packages offered by the company. PCL’s office at Prabhadevi is now shut. Earlier Sebi had put a restriction on the company to shut its operations and not accept new deposits. The regulator had also asked the firm to return investors’ funds within three months.

Sebi had ordered PCL to not sell any of its properties. However, the company challenged this order in the Securities Appellate Tribunal (SAT) but failed to get any relief. Most of the investors in PCL are middle-class families from all over the country. The company has purchased many properties using the investor’s money.

A police officer said, “It was an investor who approached Dadar police station and lodged a cheating complaint of Rs 40,000. That apart, 82 more investors approached EOW with similar complaints against PCL. Sebi officials have told EOW that there is 51 lakh investors and PCL collected Rs 7,035 crore as an investment. We have just taken over the probe from the police station and will start collecting documents related to the case and recording of victims’ statements.”

Sebi has attached PCL’s 34 properties including land parcels, buildings, offices, and resorts from all over India. The regulator has also frozen 250 bank accounts that belonged to PCL and its six directors. The attachment of properties began as the company failed to refund over Rs 7,000 to investors.

– Rajat Kabade

Source link

The post 50 lakh investors duped for Rs 7000 crore in Mumbai appeared first on Tech And Tricks.