Mumbai EOW Busts Rs 30-Crore Ponzi Scheme, Arrests Four in Ghatkopar and Goregaon

The Mumbai Police’s Economic Offences Wing (EOW) has busted a Rs 30-crore Ponzi scheme and arrested four key accused following a month-long undercover operation, conducting raids across offices in Ghatkopar, Goregaon, and Vasai.

The arrested individuals have been identified as the company’s chairman and executive director Shrikrishna Chavan, executive director Ankush Parte, director Subhash Pandere, and agent Sudesh Mohite.

According to the police, the accused operated an entity called AI Origin, also known as Digital Origin, which ran a website and illegally accepted public investments without obtaining mandatory registration or licences from regulatory bodies such as the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) or the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI). Over the past year, the firm allegedly gathered more than Rs 30 crore from investors by promising lucrative returns of 7% to 8% per month, offering payment plans that started from Rs 1,500.

Investigators stated that the accused posed as civic contractors keen on investing in cryptocurrency and gaming apps. To draw in more capital, they took 60 people on a trip to Thailand to persuade them to recruit additional investors. The group also hosted seminars and meetings across different parts of the state to lure the public with promises of high returns.

The bust was executed after the EOW's economic intelligence unit deployed officers who worked undercover as decoys, joined the scheme as members, and invested money to gather intelligence.

“Our economic intelligence unit personnel received information about this company. Undercover police personnel from this unit infiltrated and became members of this scheme. They collected all the information and we registered a case and arrested the accused,” said EOW Deputy Commissioner of Police Sangramsinh Nishandar.

During searches conducted at the firm's premises in Ghatkopar, Goregaon, and Vasai, the police seized Rs 12 lakh in cash, two cars, passbooks from nine bank accounts, and seven desktop and laptop computers.