Thousands of panic-stricken investors panicked and gathered in front of I Monetary Advisory (IMA) jewels at Bengaluru's Commercial Street on 10th June after its absconding founder Mohammed Mansoor Khan’s audio clip went viral on the internet where he claimed that he was going to commit suicide.
Who is Mohammed Mansoor Khan?
IMA or I Monetary Advisory Jewels was launched in 2016 and Khan was its promoter and Managing Director. Khan is believed to have houses in Jayanagar as well as Richmond town in the city. He also launched a second outlet of the jewellery store in Jayanagar in 2018.
One of the sister concerns, IMA Advisory Private Limited, however, describes itself as a 13-year-old company. Investors are spread across the various subsidiaries and returns were being paid for a while before they stopped a few months back.
Khan claims that the IMA group has properties worth Rs 1,050 core in the city.
The group claims to have a clientele of seven thousand.
Some of its board of directors are Nasir Hussain, Naveed Ahmed Nattamkar, Nizammuddin Azeemuddin, Afshan Tabassum, Afsar Pasha and Arshad Khan.
Besides jewellery, Khan also promoted a bullion trading company, Frontline Pharma, several supermarkets and was also planning a mall at Nandidurga Road in the near future. He also has interests in health care services, hypermarkets, infrastructure and real estate development, printing and publishing, and retail sales of gold, silver, diamond and platinum jewellery.
The IMA, on its website, claims to run educational academies for pre-primary to higher secondary school students. Mansoor Khan has reportedly even adopted Government VK Obaidullah School in June 2017, which was inaugurated by the then Chief Minister Siddaramaiah.
Group companies include IM Digital, IM Trends, IM Entertainment, IM Zayee, IMAIP Bullion and Trading, MMK Institute of Education, IMAW Jewellery, IMA Women Empowerment Business Module. Most of these were set up as limited liability partnerships.
Khan is a graduate of Bangalore University and went to the Measi Institute of Management in Chennai.
Mansoor allegedly knew the top ulemas in the city. Mufti Mohammed Shoaibullah Khan Miftahi has published a booklet in Urdu where he praises IMA Jewels.
Interestingly, he doesn't call his clients 'investors' but he calls them 'partners'. On its website, IMA says that the group has more than 3500 partners under various monetary advisory services built on the Islamic financial system.