Ponzi scheme: Accused taken to Agra for investigation

Jaipur: The special operations group (SOG) of the Rajasthan police took one of the accused in the multi-crore Pincon ponzi scam to Agra for investigation and to conduct searches. Sleuths said that several complainants have started coming to the

SOG

office after the scam was busted.

“The SOG teams took Hari Singh to Agra for investigation. We are probing the financial fraud in great detail and the accused will be produced before the court on Thursday,” said SOG SP Sanjay Shrotriya.

The SOG had busted the ponzi scheme and arrested Kolkata-based liquor baron Manoranjan Roy. The victims of the scam reached the SOG and requested them to probe similar cases and illegal companies.

One of the complainant said that central agencies like the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) should immediately start probing the case and ensure that the money invested by people is safe. “There are several such shady investment firms operating across Rajasthan, including Ajmer. I hope agencies like the ED quickly start probing such firms,” said a complainant who had invested in Roy’s ponzi scheme.

The victims of the scheme include a former DIG and a retired judge. “Many victims have approached us in the hope if save whatever money they had invested,” Shrotriya said, adding that the FIR and other documents have been sent to central agencies.

Pincon chairman Roy had raised Rs 56 crore illegally from over 25,000 people in Rajasthan. In violation of RBI and Sebi guidelines, the accused had also raised Rs 1,600 crore from over three lakh investors from states such as Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh. The SOG had recently arrested Manoranjan Roy, chairman of Pincon Spirits Ltd, and his associates Raghu Shetty, Binay Singh and Hari Singh.