ED arrests chartered accountant in Rs 792 crore Ponzi scheme

Hyderabad, Aug 21 (IANS) The Directorate of Enforcement (ED) on Thursday said that it has arrested chartered accountant Sharad Chandra Toshniwal in connection with a Rs 792 crore Ponzi scheme disguised as an invoice discounting platform.

The ED, Hyderabad Zonal Office, announced that it arrested Toshniwal under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002, in connection with an ongoing investigation against Capital Protection Force Pvt. Ltd., Amardeep Kumar and others.

Toshniwal was produced before the Special PMLA Court, which sent him to judicial custody for 14 days.

The ED initiated an investigation on the basis of three FIRs registered by the Economic Offence Wing, Cyberabad, wherein it was alleged that Amardeep Kumar, Capital Protection Force Pvt. Ltd. & others fraudulently cheated gullible investors on the pretext of high returns on their investments.

The investigation revealed that Capital Protection Force, in the name and style of ‘Falcon invoice discounting scheme’, lured investors on the pretext of providing funds for invoice discounting in exchange for promising returns based on the invoices discounted, but failed to repay their invested amounts.

Amardeep Kumar was the mastermind behind the scam, and he developed the Falcon invoice app in order to receive deposits from the investors. The ED investigation revealed that, in reality, no business of invoice discounting was carried out, and the accused cheated investors to the tune of approximately Rs 792 crore.

The ED investigation also revealed that Toshniwal was the statutory auditor of the Capital Protection Force since its incorporation. He was fully aware of the fraudulent transactions carried out by the Capital Protection Force in the name of ‘Falcon invoice discounting business’.

Toshniwal was managing the finances of several entities belonging to Amardeep Kumar and his family members. Investigation revealed that Toshniwal assisted Amardeep Kumar in investing the proceeds of crime (POC) generated from the invoice discounting business into several companies, viz. Rhett Healthcare Pvt. Ltd., Rhett Herbal Pvt. Ltd., RDP Workstations Pvt. Ltd. and Swastik Ghee Pvt. Ltd, the ED said. For his services in laundering these, Toshniwal himself acquired shares in the said companies in the names of his relatives and 'benamis' (proxies).

Toshniwal was also involved in arranging cash in lieu of the transfer of POC to different entities without any business purpose. He was directly responsible for arranging cash to the tune of Rs 14.81 crore in lieu of the transfer of the POC and thus played an active role in the concealment of the POC, the Central agency added.

The ED had earlier attached movable and immovable properties worth Rs 18.14 crore in the case and had arrested Sandeep Kumar, brother of the main accused, Amardeep Kumar. Further investigation is in progress.

--IANS

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