Probe Agency Raids 32nd Avenue Group In Rs 500 Crore Scam, Seizes Cash, Gold

In fresh action in a Rs 500 crore ponzi scheme fraud, the ED searched seven premises across Delhi-NCR, Goa, Jaipur and Mumbai linked to 32nd Avenue Group and seized Rs 1.05 crore cash and jewellery items worth Rs 1.5 crore, an official said on Thursday.

The search operation against the company's promoter-directors, Anubhav Sharma and Dhruv Sharma, and others was conducted on April 13 and 14, the official said in a statement.

The directors and promoters were using the amounts collected from gullible investors to lead a lavish life, including residences in high-end apartments in Gurugram and possession of a yacht in Goa, among other things, said the ED.

Accused Dhruv Sharma and Shirin Sharma were earlier arrested by Haryana Police and are in Judicial Custody, whereas Anubhav Sharma and Mamta Sharma are absconding, it said.

The ED initiated an investigation based on multiple FIRs registered by the Delhi Police and Gurugram Police under various sections of the IPC, 1860, against Anubhav Sharma, Dhruv Sharma, and others.

The accused were involved in organised and systematic criminal activity involving the inducement of investors, non-delivery of possession of properties, diversion and misappropriation of funds, creation and use of forged and fabricated documents, non-payment of statutory dues, and laundering of funds through multiple entities, resulting in the generation of substantial Proceeds of Crime, said the ED.

The ED investigation revealed that Proceeds of Crime in excess of Rs 500 Crore were generated by the accused through illegal activities involving the diversion of investors' funds. The funds were subsequently layered through multiple accounts of shell/benami entities.

The investigation revealed that the accused sold virtual spaces to multiple investors, thereafter leased them and offered attractive rental returns for a few months.

The same virtual space was altered in the project's layout maps and resold to other investors. In this way, a fraudulent Ponzi scheme was being run in the illegal virtual commercial space, cheating the public at large, it said.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)