Three held in Navi Mumbai for duping investors of Rs 26 cr

Thane, Mar 16 (PTI) Two directors and a person from the management of an import-export company in Navi Mumbai have been arrested for allegedly duping investors from different parts of Maharashtra of Rs 26 crore, police said on Saturday.

Based on a complaint, the police have registered a case under relevant provisions of the IPC and Prize Chits and Money Circulation Schemes (Banning) Act, 1978, Banning of Unregulated Deposit Schemes Act, 2019 and Maharashtra Protection of Interest of Depositors (In Financial Establishments) Act, 1999, an official said.

The police on Friday arrested Nitin Parte and Deepak Surve, directors of the import-export company and Sachin Bhise, who is part of the management, while another accused involved in the crime is absconding, assistant police inspector Nileshkumar Mahadik of the APMC police station said.

They had allegedly been duping the victims since March 2022, he said.

The accused lured more than 300 people from different parts of the state to invest in their business of procuring spices and dry fruits directly from cultivators and exporting them, the official said.

They allegedly assured the investors a monthly interest of 5 per cent and promised to return the invested amount after 11 months, but failed to make any payments and issued cheques that were dishonoured, he said.