ED files money laundering case in alleged Karnataka ponzi scheme
New Delhi/Bangalore: The Enforcement Directorate has filed a case of money laundering in an alleged ponzi scheme in Karnataka, involving the IMA Jewels, which left thousands of gullible investors in the lurch, officials said on Friday.
The agency's zonal office in Bangalore has filed an Enforcement Case Information Report (ECIR), equivalent to an FIR, and has pressed criminal charges under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), the officials said.
The ED has taken cognisance of the complaint registered by the Karnataka police and the subsequent creation of a special investigation team (SIT) to probe the alleged fraud, the officials said.
The agency is now gathering documents in the case and will soon summon few people, they said.
As many as 26,000 complaints have been been filed by the investors with the police against the 'I Monetary Advisory (IMA) jewels' store after an audio clip surfaced with a person named Mohammed Mansoor Khan, alleged to be its founder and managing director, heard saying he is going to commit suicide as he was fed up with corruption.
He had also alleged the Shivajinagar Congress MLA Roshan Baig took Rs 400 crore from him and was not returning it.
Baig had, however, rubbished the charge, alleging that his political adversaries had orchestrated the "series of events" to tarnish his character.
The state police had said they had received thousands of complaints against IMA Jewels and Khan, whose whereabouts are still not known, from investors who are mainly vendors, small businessmen and from middle and lower middle class.
State Home Minsiter M B Patil had said most of the investors in the now-feared defunct group were from the minority community.
Since drawing interest was prohibited in Islam, Khan had turned the investors into shareholders of his business and promised distributing the profit from his earnings, the minister said.
The police has said it has intensified its search to trace Khan.
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KSDL invites innovative technology to check sandalwood theft
Bengaluru (PTI): The Karnataka government has invited farmers, scientists and organisations to come up with innovative technologies to prevent sandalwood theft in the state.
The state-owned Karnataka Soaps and Detergents Limited (KSDL), which manufactures Mysuru Sandal Soap has also planned sandalwood cultivation, state Large and Medium Industries Minister M B Patil said on Thursday.
"In a bid to promote sandalwood cultivation, the KSDL has planned a major initiative. As part of it, farmers, scientists, and organisations possessing information on advanced equipment or innovative technologies to prevent sandalwood theft have been invited to approach KSDL and share the details," Patil said in a statement.
Those interested in this initiative will be given an opportunity to demonstrate such technologies before the organisation, the minister said, adding if the proposed solutions are found suitable and effective, steps will be taken for consideration and implementation.
Patil stated that the cost involved in deploying technologies aimed at preventing sandalwood theft would be borne by KSDL.
Further, with a view to encouraging sandalwood cultivation, four farmers who have supplied the highest quantity of sandalwood to KSDL will be honoured with awards on the occasion of the birth anniversary of Nalwadi Krishnaraja Wadiyar on June 4, he said.
On the same occasion, police personnel and forest officials who have made notable progress in apprehending sandalwood thieves and registering cases, along with members of the public who have provided credible information leading to such action, will also be recognised and rewarded, the minister added.
Patil observed that farmers cultivating sandalwood trees on their lands have been facing increasing threats due to theft in recent years. Illegal felling and theft of sandalwood trees have continued for decades.
Although stringent laws are in place to curb such activities, the number of cases resulting in convictions remains very low, he noted.
"In this context, it becomes the responsibility of the organisation to extend both legal and technical support to farmers and encourage them to take up sandalwood cultivation on a larger scale," he said.
According to him, over the past three years, KSDL has procured 174.5 metric tonne of sandalwood directly from farmers across the state and transferred Rs 6.08 crore to their respective accounts.
