Bangalore City Police on Sunday accused members of an interstate gang of duping a contractor of the Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB) to the tune of Rs 2,000 crore in a fraudulent investment scheme by promising to double the investment within a day. It was announced that seven people had been arrested.
Two of the defendants are Shamu Thomas, 59; Josh M. Kuruvilla, 62, and Josh M. Kuruvilla, 62, were arrested from Kottayam and Thrissur, respectively, in Kerala. Vijay Vaman, 45 years old. Jafar Sadiq, 39 years old. Amit Mahes Gidwani, 49 years old. According to police, suspects Jean Kamal (45) and Jean Kamal (45), residents of JP Nagar in Bengaluru, were arrested.
Police said the scam was masterminded by Vicky Ahuja, who is currently on the run in Malaysia, and brought together 11 accomplices from across India to carry out the operation. Police said other suspects Kalyan Murugan, Alpesh Patel, Chandresh Patel and Panju remain at large.
The gang, operating under the banner of a fictitious company called MEDB Capital Berhad, is said to have set up small offices to lure investors with attractive offers. Police said they targeted Naveen J (34), a contractor from Sunkadakatte in West Bengaluru, through mutual contacts. After several phone conversations, police convinced him to invest Rs 200 crore, police said.
According to police, on December 11, Naveen visited the gang’s Kabonpet office where two people posing as MEDB representatives collected money and counted it. Shortly after, Naveen allegedly received Rs 10,000 in his bank account and an email promising more money within hours.
However, the scammers allegedly left the premises, claiming they needed to deposit the cash in a bank because the office did not have a secure locker. When the promised funds did not materialize, Naveen realized he had been deceived and filed a complaint with the police.
Police said that interrogation of the arrested suspects revealed that the money was given to Urvashi Goswami aka Sonu, who distributed the money to other people in the circuit through hawala transactions. Police said Urvashi was later arrested and Rs 44 million was recovered from him.
Investigators suspected that hawala channels were used to transfer the money. “Urvashi has admitted to hawala transactions, but we lack concrete evidence. If confirmed, we will involve the Investigation Directorate (ED) for further investigation,” a police officer said.
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