Daijiworld Media Network – Bengaluru
Bengaluru, Mar 18: Former Indian cricketer Rahul Dravid, who was duped of Rs 4 crore, after investing in a ponzi scheme run by Bengaluru-based wealth management firm Vikram Investments, has complained to police.
Dravid filed a complaint against the firm at Sadashiva Nagar police station, claiming he had invested Rs 20 crore in a scheme, on the persuasion of Sutram Suresh, a former sports journalist.
The firm had promised returns up to 40 to 50 per cent on the principal amount. After the first investment, Dravid said that he received good returns in 2015. Suresh convinced him to invest more and Dravid invested Rs 20 crore.
However, Dravid received only Rs 16 crore of his principal amount and after 2017, the company stopped giving him returns.
The ponzi scheme came to light after P R Balaji, a businessman who owns Balaji Agarbathi Company, filed a complaint with Banashankari police against the company for cheating him of Rs 11 crore.
The company has been accused of defrauding over 800 investors to the tune of over Rs 300 crore. The police have received nearly 100 complaints against Vikram Investments.
Arrests
The Banashankari police have arrested the Company’s Managing Director Raghavendra Srinath, who is the main accused. His wife Sunitha, who is also one of the company directors, is absconding. Raghavendra’s associates Nagaraju, Narasimhamoorthy, Prahlad and Sutram Suresh have also been arrested.
Raghavendra was produced before the court on Saturday. Seeking the custody of those arrested, the police told the court that they needed to interrogate the accused to recover the money, as they have diverted funds to foreign countries.
On Thursday, the police had raided the Vikram commodities and Vikram Logistics Company in Chennai. Raghavendra Srinath was also running an oil factory in Chennai and it has been seized.
On Friday, the police raided Raghavendra’s house in Banashankari and Malleswaram and seized documents related to the scam.
Reports suggest that several sports bigwigs like Badminton player Saina Nehwal and Prakash Padukone who invested in the firm, have also been duped. However, they have not yet filed complaints.
The police, who have seized property worth crores, claim that investors may get 80 per cent of their money back.