BENGALURU: Mohammed Mansoor Khan, managing director of IMA Jewels, who is alleged to have cheated thousands of investors of an estimated Rs 2,000 crore, fled to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on June 8 at 8.45 pm on board an Emirates flight, from Kempegowda International Airport, a senior police official confirmed to TNIE.
Investigations into the whereabouts of Mansoor confirmed that he had left the country.
After Mansoor’s audio clip went viral on WhatsApp, saying that he was committing suicide and accusing an MLA of cheating him of Rs 400 crore, there was speculation on his whereabouts though some even suspected that he had killed himself.
However, a senior police official said, “Our investigations and interrogation have proved that he fled the country around 8.45 pm on June 8. We cannot disclose further details.”Interestingly, there has been a transaction of nearly Rs 19 crore from the IMA account to his personal account, before he fled. Sources said the money was obtained by liquidating most of the gold and diamonds in his shops into cash.
Commercial Street police, with whom the first complaint was registered, handed over the case files to the Special Investigation Team (SIT). The custody of seven arrested directors was also given to the SIT, and the team will start official interrogation from Friday. Meanwhile, the seven arrested directors reportedly claimed ignorance and also said that they were not aware of Mansoor’s financial transactions. They allegedly revealed that they were asked to convert some jewels into cash and that they had deposited about Rs 19 crore into his account.
IMA scam: Cops seize passports of all seven directors
Police have seized the passports of all the seven directors to prevent them from fleeing the country. Meanwhile, two cars — a Jaguar and a Range Rover — belonging to Mansood were reportedly seized at KIA on Wednesday.Complaints against IMA Jewels have not stopped coming in, and have now reached about 27,000 across the state. Help desks have been set up in several cities, including Mysuru, Hubballi, Belagavi and Mangaluru. “Complaints have not stopped coming in. Every hour, there is one or other complaint. Their stories are sad. But it’s unfortunate that they believed in something like this,” said an investigating officer.