Kingpin of multi-crore ponzi scam arrested in Faridkot

Tribune News Service

Faridkot, April 6

In a seven-year-old multi crore ‘ponzi scheme’ scam, the Faridkot police have arrested one of the three kingpins.

The police have arrested the accused Monica Tuli from Chandigarh today. In this pyramid like scheme of cheating people with illusion of big profit, the Faridkot police had nominated three persons — Neeraj Arora, Gaurav Chhabra and Monica Tuli — all residents of Abohar, in February 2017 for the alleged offence of cheating people of huge amounts of money from year 2013 to 2016 here.

The accused were operating a firm — Nature Heights Infra Limited — to attract investors in real estate. Most of the victims of this ponzi scheme are reportedly from Abohar and Fazilka area.

Since the accused were allegedly close to a senior political leader of Abohar area, it is alleged that the police failed in laying hand on them during the Congress-led state government’s regime. All of these accused were declared as proclaimed offender by the court.

It was in February 2023 that Gaurav Chhabra, one of the directors of this firm was arrested by the police. Now, the second arrest has been made by Faridkot police on Saturday. Neeraj Arora is still absconding.

For no concrete action was initiated against the accused, over 400 complainants had approached the Central investigation agencies which led to the Enforcement Directorate (ED) starting the probe and attaching properties and bank deposits worth Rs 22.24 crore belonging to these three accused.

The attached assets included immovable properties worth Rs 17.58 crore at Abohar, Dhar Kalan, Kharar, Garhshankar, Anandpur Sahib as well as Multai (Madhya Pradesh) and bank deposits of Rs 4.38 crore.

It is alleged that the accused had duped victims of Rs 45 crore on the pretext of allotting properties at different locations in Punjab or doubling the money within a short span of time.

It is also alleged that the accused had distributed brochures inviting investments in colonies to be developed in Chandigarh as well as Talwara, Anandpur Sahib, Gobindgarh, Mohali, Zirakpur, Ferozepur and other towns of Malwa region in Punjab. The company had reportedly shut down all branch offices across Punjab after allegedly collecting crores of rupees from customers in a fradulent manner .

After arrest of Monica Tuli, police teams from Abohar and Fazilka police had also reached Faridkot to question her. She has been sent to three-day police remand.

DUPED VICTIMS OF Rs 45 CRORE

The accused had duped victims of Rs 45 crore on the pretext of allotting properties at different locations in Punjab or doubling the money in a short span. It is alleged that the accused had distributed brochures inviting investments in colonies to be developed in Chandigarh, Talwara, Anandpur Sahib, Gobindgarh, Mohali, Zirakpur, Ferozepur and other towns of Malwa region in Punjab.

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