MLM firm directors held for cheating investors of Rs 65 cr

Coimbatore: The economic offence wing (EOW) police on Wednesday arrested two directors of multi-level marketing (MLM) company Green Crest for cheating investors of Rs 65 crore.
B Manikandan, 48, of Krishnasamy Nagar near Ramanathapuram and his stepson P Sanjaykumar, 27, had launched the firm at Krishnasamy Nagar in 2018, police said. “They promised 0.5% daily interest for investment and the capital after 11 months. Preliminary investigations revealed that more than 1,000 people from across the state had invested in the company,” a police officer said.
The firm’s online advertisements showed Manikandan and Sanjaykumar posing with cricketer Sachin Tendulkar and several popular actors. Police are yet to verify the authenticity of the photos.
“After the company stopped paying interest from May, some investors approached the duo, who threatened them. On Wednesday, more than 50 investors besieged the directors’ house demanding their money and also lodged a complaint with EOW,” the officer told TOI.
Police arrested the duo and booked them under sections 120 (B) (criminal conspiracy), 406 (criminal breach of trust), 420 (cheating and dishonestly inducing delivery of property) of the Indian Penal Code and Section 5 of the Tamil Nadu Protection of Interests of Depositors (In Financial Establishments) Act 1997. They were remanded in judicial custody.
Sanjaykumar, who was working for a private company in Malaysia, had joined the business at Manikandan’s behest, the officer said. “We have formed a team to arrest Manikandan’s second wife Padmavathi, his stepdaughter Saranya and agents Srinivasan and Karthikeyan. The family spent most of the money to lead a lavish life. Manikandan and Sanjaykumar had bought a flat worth more than 1 crore and a farmhouse in Coonoor. We plan to take them in custody for five days to collect more information.” Those who were cheated by the firm should contact the EOW office at the city police commissionerate, the officer added.