Actor Vivek Oberoi has filed a fraud case against at least three of his business partners for allegedly defrauding him of Rs 1.55 crore. Oberoi has alleged that the accused made the actor invest money in an event and film production firm promising lucrative profits. However, later, the accused persons used the money for wrongful self-gain. The MIDC police in Mumbai are investigating the matter.The actor’s firm, Oberoi Mega Entertainment LLP, has authorised chartered accountant Deven Bafna to file a police complaint on his behalf against the accused partners of Anandita Entertainment LLP Sanjay Shah, Nandita Shah, Radhika Nanda and others. The complaint was lodged on behalf of the actor and his wife by their accountant Deven Bafna, who told the police that the two parties were supposed to start an events company specialising in organising events related to the film business as well as movie production.
“The Oberois had floated a company named Oberoi Organics in 2017. Since it was not doing too well, they decided to first bring in the three accused as partners in the firm, then dissolve that business and convert it into an events business under the name of Anandita Entertainment,” Bafna said in his statement to the police. This deal, he said, was struck between the two parties in July 2020. A few months down the line Oberoi decided to transfer his shares to another company that he owned, Oberoi Mega Entertainment, the complaint said. The day-to-day work of the joint venture was to be looked after by Sanjay Saha and Radhika Nanda, it explained. “Oberoi was informed about the mishandling of funds within the venture by an employee in April 2022, after which the services of Bafna were taken to sort the issues out. He then found out that Sanjay Saha had used the company’s money for various personal reasons including paying the life insurance premium for his mother. Nanda, too, had withdrawn money from the company,” said an officer from MIDC police. More than ₹58 lakh had been siphoned off by the two partners as per the account statements, he added. Oberoi then confronted his partners. He also asked them to explain themselves about another fraud that they had been accused of cheating actor Nawazuddin Siddiqui of ₹51 lakh which Oberoi returned on behalf of the company from his personal accounts. “We have booked the accused under sections 406 (criminal breach of trust), 409 (dishonest misappropriation) and 420 (fraud) of the IPC,” said a police officer.