India News | Firm Director on Run for Duping Mumbai Investors of Rs 190 Crore Held

Mumbai, Jan 17 (PTI) Mumbai Police's crime branch on Wednesday arrested the main accused wanted since 2020 for allegedly cheating investors to the tune of Rs 190 crore by promising them hefty returns on their investments under various schemes, an official said.

The accused, Jayant Sanjeeva Shetty, 59, was apprehended by officials of unit 11 of the crime branch from Goregaon (west) in the evening, he said.

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"Shetty is the main accused who was wanted in a cheating case registered with the Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of Mumbai Police in 2020," the official said.

Shetty was one of the directors of Shri Ramajenia Leasing and Finance Pvt Ltd. The firm offered various investment schemes promising attractive returns from 2012 to 2017 and hundreds of people invested their money.

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However, the firm allegedly didn't return any money to the investors, he said, adding that it was a scam of at least Rs 190 crore.

Mumbai Police had registered an FIR based on complaints lodged under various sections of the Indian Penal Code for cheating and criminal breach of trust and the Maharashtra Protection of Interest of Depositors (In Financial Establishments) Act at Malad police station. The investigation was subsequently transferred to the Economic Offences Wing.

After the FIR was registered, Jayant Shetty went into hiding, the official said, adding that teams of EOW were on his hunt.

Based on specific information, a team of EOW's MPID unit came to know about the whereabouts of Shetty.

"They shared information with unit 11 of the crime branch and a trap was laid for 48 hours near a building in Jawahar Nagar area of Goregaon (west) and Shetty was apprehended," the official said.

He was arrested by the police's EOW and further investigation is underway.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)