BENGALURU: For a long time, Mohammed Mansoor Khan, the brains behind I Monetary Advisory (IMA), was ‘Allah’ for his investors, giving them huge halal profits of more than 30 per cent every year. Today, he is the ‘Shaitan’ who took away everything.
As a young boy, he grew up on Makan road in Shivajinagar, close to Roshan Baig’s house. His father Abid Ali Mansoor was originally from Tamil Nadu but had settled here decades ago, according to neighbours. Growing up in poverty, he quit studies after class 10 to work as a salesman at JTM mobiles in Millers Road.
Two years later, he left for Dubai where he worked at a jewellery store, learning the nuances of the gold business, Rahel Khan, a relative said. On his return, he enrolled in a jewellery design course and then joined the notorious Hyderabad-based Heera Gold group owned by Nouheera Sheikh. It was here he learnt of halal returns and how to convince investors to part with money.
Returning back, he befriended Irfan, the right-hand man of a rowdy sheeter and they started Irfan-Mansoor Advisory, the original IMA, from a small cycle shop in Tilak Nagar. He would use verses from the Quran on halal money to lure investors, claiming that the returns were profit and not interest, prohibited in Islam.
But their partnership dissolved when Mansoor took around Rs 45 lakh, invested by Irfan’s relatives and escaped to Shivajinagar.
Irfan approached the Tilak Nagar police then, but to no avail. IMA, in its new avatar, was named I Monetary Advisory and Mansoor befriended the MLA near whose house he grew up. He allegedly even did the interiors for the politician's house.
Thanks to his connections, Moulvis in the area would announce IMA schemes, doubling his profits. He became the blue eyed boy of the MLA, attending functions, helping out with campaigns and organizing meets. At this time, he even invested in bitcoin, meeting the expectations of his investors. He even built a Madarasa in far away Tanzania.
Once his MLA friend became a minister, his business took off. He adopted schools and established hospitals. When a new minister took charge, he switched loyalties.
At one point, he also ran a newspaper, ‘Siyasat’ which Dilip Kumar reportedly launched. Interestingly, the paper would get advertisements from the government with a circulation of hardly 3,000. Some relatives say he registered a company named ‘Riba Free Trading Company’ in Dubai and England. Is it going to be his next destination now?