CA Amber Dalal held for cheating investors out of crores of rupees in Ponzi scheme: Mumbai police

DCP Sangramsinh Nishandar said that Dalal was arrested on Tuesday night.

“Two mobile phones and a laptop have been seized from Dalal’s possession. He was produced before a court, which remanded him in police custody up to April 1,” said Sachin Kadam, a senior inspector from the sales tax unit of the police wing.

Dalal, owner of Ritz Consultancy Services Company, allegedly ran a Ponzi scheme offering 1.5-1.8 per cent monthly return on investments. According to a victim, more than 1,023 investors have been defrauded by Dalal. “These investors are not just from India, but also from the UK, US, Australia, China and Dubai,” she said.

The Oshiwara police registered a case on March 15 against Dalal for allegedly cheating dozens of investors out of Rs 54 crore. The complaint was lodged by a Juhu-based fashion designer. According to the FIR, Dalal told the designer that he would invest her money in various risk-free markets and conduct trading, promising a monthly return of 1.5-1.8 per cent. Assuring her of transparency, he said that a memorandum of understanding would be signed, the police said.

Investors get returns on time initially

The investors initially invested small amounts. On getting regular returns, they trusted Dalal and invested more money. However, from March 2024, the accused company started defaulting on payment.

When the investors confronted Dalal, he started ignoring them giving one or another excuses, such as his wife’s health issues. Later, they found out that he had duped many other investors similarly, the police said.

Dalal’s company handed over post-dated cheques to many investors who wanted to withdraw their money. But they discovered that the company’s bank account had only Rs 50,000, said another investor.

When the investors discovered that Dalal escaped on March 14, they approached the police. A lookout circular was issued to prevent his escape from the country.

The investors have claimed that it is a fraud of more than Rs 1,200 crore.

Actor, businessmen, lawyers and chartered accountants

Actor Annu Kapoor’s family is also among the victims who lost money to Dalal. More people from the film industry have similarly lost money.

Another victim said the victims had invested amounts ranging from Rs 10 lakh to Rs 10 crore in Dalal’s schemes. There are many senior citizens, some of whom have even invested their pension money with him. People from all walks of life including businessmen, lawyers and even chartered accountants are among the victims.

The Economic Offences Wing has already searched Dalal’s official and residential premises and frozen more than 20 bank accounts linked to him.

After securing his five-day custody, the police are now trying to extract information about where exactly he diverted the funds and how he used them. They will also try to find out if he unlawfully used the investors’ money to amass properties.

Dalal has been arrested under Indian Penal Code sections 420 (cheating and dishonesty), 406 (criminal breach of trust) and 409 (criminal breach of trust) along with sections of the Maharashtra Protection of Interest of Depositors Act.

The Maharashtra Act has provisions to attach and auction properties belonging to the accused and distribute the recovered money among the victims. But it all happens under a court’s supervision and the procedure is a time-consuming one, said a police officer.

Inspectors Pritam Banavali and Pandurang Gavate and their teams searched Dalal’s premises at various places including Juhu, Dahisar and Andheri. A police team was sent to Uttarakhand on March 22. It worked on leads for four days and arrested Dalal from the Tapovan area of Uttarakhand on Tuesday.

Officials have urged Dalal’s victims to visit the office of the Economic Offences Wing’s unit-12 and submit details of their investments.