Now, Malegaon guns for Rs 1,000 crore Ponzi mastermind

MUMBAI: The Malegaon police have registered a Rs 40 lakh cheating case against Nowhera Shaikh, MD, Heera Group, and several others for luring investors with false promises. This is the sixth FIR against Sahikh in Maharashtra. The total amount allegedly siphoned off by her is believed to be in excess of Rs 1,000 crore.

The complainant, Aadil Sultan, 21, a resident of Anjuman Chowk, Malegaon, told the police his family members had in June 2017 invested Rs 26.5 lakh with Heera Gold, which had a local office in Malegaon. He told the police he received returns for some time, after which the firm defaulted on payments.

Additional SP (Malegaon) Neelotpal said, “We are collecting all documents related to the case. We are taking our senior officers’ advice; the case may be transferred to the economic offences wing (EOW) of the Nashik (rural) police.” EOW, which specialises in financial crime, takes over cases where cheating amounts are more than Rs 25 lakh.

Shaikh is currently in the custody of the Pune police on another case, registered there. She was first arrested by the Hyderabad police in October for a similar offence. Later, the Mumbai EOW took her custody in a Rs 500 crore cheating case. Then it was the turn of the Thane police, which took her custody on two cases, before the Pune police extended their long arms for her.

Sources in Mumbai EOW said that till date 190 bank accounts belonging to Shaikh and her firms have been identified. “We have got transaction details of 50 accounts so far,” said the officer. Over 200 victims have submitted complaints to the EOW, stating that the firm defaulted on payments. The EOW has identified six properties belonging to the firm. Worth Rs 40 crore, these properties are likely to be attached and later auctioned to recover investors’ dues.