The CBI has booked 10 persons, including Karnataka cadre IPS officers Hemant Nimbalkar and Ajay Hilori, in connection with the ₹4,000-crore I-Monetary Advisory (IMA) scam.

The registration of the case followed an the Karnataka government’s approval to probe the charges against Mr. Nimbalkar, a 1998-batch officer, who was the Inspector General of Police (CID); and Mr. Hilori, a 2008 batch officer, then posted as Deputy Commissioner of Police (Bengaluru East).

Among those named in the FIR are Inspector M. Ramesh and Sub-Inspector Gowri Shankar of the Commercial Street Police Station in Bengaluru, and Deputy Superintendent of Police E.B. Sridhara of the CID's Economic Offences division.

The group, its head Mansoor Khan, and other directors, Nizamuddin, Vaseeem and Arshad Khan, have also been arraigned. The CBI had earlier registered three cases against the company, its sister concerns, Khan and others for their alleged role in the scam. It had also filed two charge sheets against the accused persons.

It is alleged that since 2013, the group collected Rs.4,000 crore from thousands of investors on the pretext of high rate of returns on the investments.

Since 2016, Reserve Bank of India (RBI) had been highlighting the issue of unauthorised collections by the IMA group at the State level coordination committee meetings presided over by the State Chief Secretary. They were attended by officials of all the enforcement agencies and market regulatory bodies.

RBI shares findings with police

RBI, through a letter on August 12, 2016, shared the findings of its Market Intelligence Unit with the then Director General and Inspector General of Police.

The reference was shared with the area Station House Officer, Mr. Ramesh, through the Deputy Commissioner of Police, Bengaluru East. He sent a closer report to Mr. Hilori in January 2017, saying that no action could be taken without any complaint from the depositors.

It is alleged that Mr. Hilori kept the matter pending for almost four months and then sought a fresh report from the Inspector that contained the same findings. It was forwarded to the Additional Commissioner of Police (Crime), Bengaluru City, in May 2017.

RBI did not accept the report and the Deputy Commissioner of Police (East) was again asked to look into the matter. As alleged, Mr. Hilori did not take any action despite several references, stating that the matter was being dealt with by the CID.

The Principal Secretary then directed the Deputy Commissioner, Bengaluru Urban, to prefer a complaint against the IMA group and its directors. The complaint again reached Mr. Ramesh. He and the accused Sub-Inspector had received complaints against the group from a social activist but they allegedly buried the matter.

In July 2018, the Inspector General of Police (CID) was directed to take necessary action. He submitted a report, prepared by Mr. Sridhara, in January 2019 claiming that the collections were not unauthorised.

The FIR alleges that the police officers received quid pro quo from the IMA group directors for not taking any action against them.