The Economic Offences Wing of the Mumbai police has arrested Amber Dalal, a chartered accountant and investment consultant, from Uttarakhand for allegedly running a massive Ponzi scheme and swindling hundreds of crores of rupees from over 1,000 investors in and outside India.So far over 600 investors have approached the police claiming they were defrauded out of more than Rs 380 crore, a police officer said, adding that the number would increase manyfold as more victims were coming forward.DCP Sangramsinh Nishandar said that Dalal was arrested on Tuesday night.
“Two mobile phones and a laptop have been seized from Dalal’s possession. He was produced before a court, which remanded him in police custody up to April 1,” said Sachin Kadam, a senior inspector from the sales tax unit of the police wing.Dalal, owner of Ritz Consultancy Services Company, allegedly ran a Ponzi scheme offering 1.5-1.8 per cent monthly return on investments. According to a victim, more than 1,023 investors have been defrauded by Dalal. “These investors are not just from India, but also from the UK, US, Australia, China and Dubai,” she said.The Oshiwara police registered a case on March 15 against Dalal for cheating.
According to the FIR, Dalal told the designer that he would invest her money in various risk-free markets and conduct trading, promising a monthly return of 1.5-1.8 per cent. Assuring her of transparency, he said that a memorandum of understanding would be signed, the police said.
The investors initially invested small amounts. On getting regular returns, they trusted Dalal and invested more money. However, from March 2024, the accused company started defaulting on payment.
When the investors confronted Dalal, he started ignoring them giving one or another excuses, such as his wife’s health issues. Later, they found out that he had duped many other investors similarly, the police said.
Dalal’s company handed over post-dated cheques to many investors who wanted to withdraw their money. But they discovered that the company’s bank account had only Rs 50,000, said another investor.
When the investors discovered that Dalal escaped on March 14, they approached the police. A lookout circular was issued to prevent his escape from the country.The investors have claimed that it is a fraud of more than Rs 1,200 crore.