Delhi, February 18 (Punjab Khabarnama Bureau): Thousands of investors in India are scrambling to recoup nearly ₹870 crore ($100 million) after they were caught in a Ponzi scheme that duped them into making short-term investments promising high returns, according to a police statement and multiple victims Reuters spoke to.
Telangana police arrested two individuals on Saturday after a case was filed against Falcon Invoice Discounting, which promised returns of up to 22% by claiming to connect depositors with the likes of Amazon and biscuit maker Britannia.
Falcon collected ₹1,700 crore (about $196 million) from nearly 7,000 investors since 2021 but has repaid only half, according to a statement from police in the southern state of Telangana.
Ankit Bihani, a New Delhi-based jeweler, met with 50 other investors last week to discuss measures, including legal remedies, to recoup the collective ₹50 crore they said they had lost.
“Most of them (investors) got to know about the investing platform through social media and invested in it,” Bihani told Reuters.
Falcon used the money from new investors to pay out older ones and diverted the remaining funds to various shell entities, the police said. Authorities are hunting for Amardeep Kumar, Falcon’s founder and the main accused, a source said.
However, some of the victims that Reuters spoke to are left wondering if they will recoup the money — entire life savings, in some cases — they entrusted to Falcon.
“It is my hard-earned money. We don’t know when and how will we get it back,” said Roopesh Chauhan, a tech employee who lost ₹1.5 crore.
Summary: A fraudulent investment scheme in Telangana leads to a loss of ₹870 crore for thousands of Indians, with two arrests made in connection to the scam.