CHENNAI: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has commenced a money laundering probe into an alleged Rs 6,000-crore scam where the Vellore-based LNS International Financial Services firm allegedly duped investors by promising returns as high as 6%-10% every month.
Official sources said the officials from ED’s Chennai zone interrogated Janarthanan Sundaram, one of the four owners of the firm, at the Puzhal jail a few days ago. He was deported from Thailand in January after the CBI had issued an Interpol Red Corner Notice against him based on a request by the Tamil Nadu Economic Offences Wing.
The EOW had registered a case under sections for cheating and the TN Protection of Interests of Depositors (TNPID) Act in August 2022 following the Madras High Court’s direction based on a plea by a victim. The agency also filed a final report before the trial court.
Janarthanan’s attempt to enter Thailand through Bangkok on January 28 was denied by the local authorities due to the RCN leading to his deportation to Kolkata airport, where he was arrested and later taken into custody by the Tamil Nadu EOW. Based on the EOW’s case, ED has initiated an investigation under PMLA to probe the money trail aspect, sources said.
Apart from Janarthanan, the other accused are his brothers Lakshmi Narayanan, Vedhanarayanan and cousin Mohan Babu. Employing agents, they had collected around Rs 6,000 crore from over a lakh people by promising them huge returns.
The firm had dangled the prospect of huge returns by projecting Lakshmi Narayanan’s supposed expertise in the stock market to solicit investments from gullible public in Chennai, Vellore, and few other districts in the state, sources added.
During the state-wide raids in 2022, EOW had seized around 623.25 gm of gold jewellery, Rs 1.12 crore in cash, 72 property documents valued at Rs 12.2 crore and seven high-end cars worth Rs 2.5 crore of the accused, which were alleged to be proceeds of crime.