JOIN USA day after the Banashankari police arrested Raghavendra Srinath, director of Vikram Investments, for duping 800 people of Rs 300 crore, 66 investors thronged the police station to file complaints with copies of investment proofs.
DCP (South) S D Sharanappa said that considering the seriousness of the fraud, three special teams have been formed to probe the scam and investigations are on.
A senior police officer said that the police have seized 12 bank accounts and two cars of the accused. They are also on the lookout for Srinath's wife, who is one of the directors of the company.
The police said Srinath has confessed that he had taken huge sums of money from many people and duped them after promising them high interest rates by investing in foreign commodities and shares. The police sought the help of private accountants to check the details of the company, including its transactions and investments.
A senior police officer said that Srinath used to frequently travel to Malaysia and suspect that he may have invested in properties there. Efforts are on to get more information in this regard. The accused used to attract investors by printing photographs of high profile personalities and celebrities in the company's handbook without their consent.
The incident came to light after P R Balaji, owner of Balaji Agarbathi Manufacturing Company filed a cheating complaint before the Banashankari police alleging that the firm cheated him of Rs 11.74 crore and refused to return the investment.
Based on the complaint, the police arrested Ragavendra Srinath, his associates Narasimha Murthy, Prahalad, K C Nagaraj and Sutram Suresh and booked them under section 403 (dishonest misappropriation of property), 406 (criminal breach of trust) and section 420 (cheating). Srinath appointed them as wealth managers and offered them good salaries and commission to get more investors.