HYDERABAD: The Enforcement Directorate investigating the money laundering case against the Heera Group, recently attached properties worth Rs 299.99 crore in connection with frauds pulled off by ponzi schemes floated by the company. The ED attached immovable assets included agricultural lands, commercial plots, residential buildings, commercial complexes and bank balances, spread across Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Maharashtra and Delhi worth Rs 277.29 crore and movable assets worth Rs 22.69 crore.
ED had earlier initiated investigations under Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) in a ponzi fraud, based on cases registered by the Central Crime Station, Hyderabad and Andhra Pradesh Police, against found of Heera Group, Nowhera Shaik and her associates. The allegations were of illegally collecting deposits from lakhs of investors on the pretext of high returns after multiple cases were registered by the aggrieved depositors across the country.
Over the course of investigation, it was revealed that Shaik had floated multiple companies under Heera Group and collected a total amount of Rs 5,600 crore as unauthorised deposits. A network of marketing executives and direct selling agents meted out false promises of 36 per cent returns per annum and trapped over 1,72,000 investors, across the country.
Shaik did not have any valid permissions under the Banking Regulation Act, the Companies Act, RBI Act or from any other government agencies like the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) to collect deposits. She had started gold, food and textile trading business fronts, only to create an impression of earning profits through legal channels. The volume of business in these marts was miniscule and insufficient to justify the high returns promised. In reality, the returns paid to members were being funded from cash flows generated by new members and their investments.
Meanwhile, Shaik, her family members and close associates diverted the depositors’ money to their personal accounts and amassed huge movable and immovable assets. 24 firms under the Heera Group umbrella were started and 182 bank accounts opened in India, UAE, Saudi Arabia, etc.