ED: Directors, intermediaries diverted Rs 1.1k cr ponzi money

Mumbai: In a supplementary charge sheet against 18 more accused in the Rs 564 crore Ritz Consultancy Ponzi scheme allegedly led by chartered accountant Amber Dalal, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) has alleged that a network of directors and intermediaries exploited investors and diverted funds to themselves and their families. Of the total amount, Rs 564 crore of investor money remains untraced.According to the ED, these directors, linked to firms including VRPM Investment Private Limited and Maxroi Consultancy, allegedly conspired with Dalal despite knowing he lacked mandatory SEBI and RBI registrations. More than 2,000 investors were allegedly lured with promises of risk-free monthly returns. According to the chargesheet, the accused orchestrated a large-scale investment fraud involving 2,015 investors who contributed a total of Rs 1,146.25 crore. While approximately Rs 581.91 crore was distributed back as returns, the remaining Rs 564.34 crore was never repaid, resulting in a direct loss to the investors.The agency alleges that instead of being invested in arbitrage as promised, the money was siphoned off as brokerage and commissions and routed through personal and family accounts to disguise it as legitimate income. Issuing summons to all the accused, Special Judge RB Rote said there was prima facie sufficient material to indicate active involvement in money laundering. "It is submitted that accused … are actively involved in the offence of money laundering, being directly or indirectly involved in activities connected with the proceeds of crime, including its concealment, possession, acquisition or use and in projecting or claiming it as untainted property, thereby committing an offence under … PMLA," the judge noted in the order.The ED said the use of family members' accounts was a recurring pattern. Vijay Bhatia and Shikha Vijay Bhatia of Maxroi Consultancy are accused of siphoning Rs 20.47 crore, while accused Rushabh Shah and Ashit Shah allegedly routed commissions of more than Rs 3.91 crore and Rs 1.67 crore, respectively, through personal, proprietary and family-held accounts. Rambha Mitra, described as a close associate of Dalal, allegedly received Rs 47.99 crore and used part of it for personal expenses and losses in private trading accounts.The case stems from an FIR registered by Oshiwara police in March 2024, alleging that Dalal cheated investors through Ritz Consultancy Services by promising monthly returns of 1.5% to 1.8% through commodity trading. Returns were initially paid, but payments later allegedly stopped. The Economic Offences Wing subsequently took over the probe. Dalal was arrested by police and later taken into ED custody in the money-laundering case.