Wife of ‘like’ Ponzi scam mastermind booked for absconding

NOIDA: The wife of a 26-year-old BTech graduate arrested earlier this year for engineering one of the biggest Ponzi scams to be busted in the country has been booked by UP Police after investigators failed to track her down.

Ayushi Mittal is a co-accused in the case registered against her husband Anubhav, who was arrested this February for running illegal online schemes that offered returns in exchange for liking pages. The scam is believed to be in the region of Rs 3,700 crore and had around 6 lakh subscribers when it was busted. It was operated under the name, Social Trade, a portal that was designed on the lines of Facebook, where accounts were opened for investors. Mittal floated a company, Ablaze Info Solutions, to run Social Trade. He also roped in Bollywood celebrities for promotions.

Ayushi has been absconding since the scam was busted in Noida in February despite a court-issued non-bailable warrant against her. Police's special investigating team (SIT) had moved an application against Ayushi in court for not joining the investigation. The court ordered a case registered against her under Section 82 (proclamation as absconder) of the Criminal Procedure Code. The case has been filed at Phase 3 police station in Noida.

The STF has arrested Anubhav, his father Suneel Mittal and five other persons in this case, including a banker. Ablaze operated from an office in Sector 63. Police had seized 250 passports from the office when the raids were conducted. The Enforcement Directorate later started its own probe and froze Rs 520 crore in 12 accounts of the company. Ponzi schemes are illegal and punishable under The Prize Chits and Money Circulation Schemes (Banning) Act 1978.