HYDERABAD: The Enforcement Directorate (ED), Hyderabad Zonal Office has arrested Aryan Singh, chief operating officer of Capital Protection Force, in connection with the Rs 792-crore Falcon invoice discounting fraud. Singh was produced before the Special PMLA Court on Wednesday, which remanded him to 14 days judicial custody.
The case stems from three FIRs registered by the Economic Offences Wing, Cyberabad, alleging that the mastermind Amardeep Kumar and others duped investors by promising unusually high returns. The ED’s probe revealed that under the banner of the “Falcon Invoice Discounting Scheme,” the company claimed to provide funds for invoice discounting in return for assured profits, but it was merely a front to siphon funds.
Investigators said Amardeep masterminded the scheme, even developing the Falcon Invoice app to attract deposits. Aryan, as COO, was found to have played a key operational role, managing teams that promoted the fraudulent business and directly engaged with investors to gain their trust.
Despite knowing there was no genuine commercial activity, he actively induced people to invest. The ED further alleged that Aryan assisted in diverting funds and personally received proceeds of crime amounting to Rs 2.88 crore in his personal and company accounts. The agency had earlier seized a Hawker 800A aircraft linked to the case, besides attaching movable and immovable assets worth Rs 18.14 crore.
Sandeep Kumar, brother of the main accused, and chartered accountant Sharad Chandra Toshniwal were arrested earlier by the ED. The agency said further investigation into the money trail and involvement of other entities is underway.