The Special Investigation Team (SIT) began probe into the IMA scam on Thursday. “The first concern is to track down the kingpin Mohammed Mansoor Khan. Efforts are on to ascertain his whereabouts,” said SIT chief B.R. Ravikanthe Gowda.
Two luxury cars registered in his name were recovered from the parking lot of Kempegowda International Airport on Wednesday, and the police have also tracked down two air tickets booked in his name. However, the SIT is yet to conclusively establish that he fled the country.
“He may have left the country or he may be hiding by creating a false trail. The process is under way, even as a lookout notice for him has been issued,” said Mr. Gowda. The seven directors of IMA company, who were arrested by the police on Wednesday, were handed over to the SIT.
Meanwhile, investors continued to queue in front of Commercial Street police station. “The number of complaints, when last checked on Thursday evening, was 24,700 across the State,” said a police official. Most complainants alleged that the nature of the scam revealed that the entire system — from big businessmen to politicians and police — had colluded with the accused.
Police alert investors of phishing attempts
Bengaluru: Investors of IMA, who were lodging complaints with the police, said they received “strange” calls from people claiming to be representatives of the company. The callers allegedly promised them that they would deposit the money they have lost in their bank accounts. To do this, they asked for details of their bank accounts, debit card numbers, CVV, and IFSC code.
The police, in a public statement, said these were phishing attempts targeting gullible investors. They appealed to citizens to not reveal any details to these callers. “We request investors to report such calls to the nearest police station,” the statement said. The police have also launched a probe to ascertain how the callers get hold of the list of investors who lost money in the scam.
ED likely to enter probe
Bengaluru: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) is evaluating details of transactions of the IMA Group to see whether there are enough grounds for it to join the probe. Sources in ED said that they were conducting a preliminary investigation to verify if there was any instance of money laundering by the IMA. If so, the ED will launch a probe booking a case under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002, officials said. Sources said at least prima facie there were no violations of the Foreign Exchange Management Act, 1999.