According to reports, the managing director of VGN Jewellers has been arrested on charges of duping nearly 20 investors of over INR 15 crores by promising higher returns on their deposits in various schemes.
The accused, identified as Virath Gopalan Nair, was arrested by the economic offences wing (EOW) of Thane police on Tuesday, October 5.
An official of EOW said that the magnitude of the multi-crore scam is likely to widen --- the total number of victims could be around 50,000 and the fraud could be of well over INR 100 crores.
Reports stated that in 2019, two Keralite brothers who owned Goodwin Jewellers were arrested for defaulting on similar schemes.
Nair, also originally from Kerala, established himself as a reliable jeweller in the city in the 80s and is popular among the Malayali community, which trusted and invested with him.
As the news of Nair’s arrest spread among investors, they started flocking to the EOW office at the police headquarters here to record their statements, said a police officer. Many victims said that they had invested their life earnings and saving in the scheme.
Moreover, an official said that the scam started in 2006 with the accused luring clients with various schemes that offered good returns on their investment. Bifurcating further, the official explained, in one scheme, a client had to pay INR 500 for 24 months (amounting to INR 12,000) and they could get INR 14,000 or gold jewellery of that value back.
Meanwhile, another scheme, which belies belief, was assured 15 per cent annual interest on deposits spanning from 1 to 5 years, said a police officer.
Last month, Nair was booked, along with his wife and son, for fraud and a case was registered with the Kolsewadi police station in Kalyan. The case was registered under sections 420 (cheating), 409 (criminal breach of trust by a public servant, or by banker, merchant or agent), and 406 (criminal breach of trust), along with other sections of the Maharashtra Protection of Interest of Depositors (MPID) Act.
The police have again urged citizens not to fall prey to such schemes offering unbelievable returns as there is every chance of getting cheated.
VGN Jewellery stores were established in Mulund, Dombivli, Ulhasnagar, among other places.
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