Delhi High Court grants interim bail to lawyer in Rs 100 crore fraud case

“Of course, wife of the applicant, who is also co-accused here, is already on bail and can take requisite steps for the purposes of ensuring admission of their children in the school but since it is prayed that the presence of the applicant would also be required for arranging funds, if the interim bail is not granted, it would spoil the chance of admission of his children in the school, which may seriously prejudice their educational career,” the April 23 order read. 

Justice Manoj Jain noted that the admission process was already underway and that both children had approached the school concerned.

The high court noted that the admission process was already underway and that both children had approached the school concerned.

However, the court also recorded that, as per the school authorities, the presence of both parents was not mandatory, and either parent could complete the admission formalities.

The high court granted interim bail on furnishing a personal bond of Rs 25,000 with one local surety of the like amount.

Investment scheme and fraud

• The case was registered on a complaint by Gaurav Goyal and others with the economic offences wing, alleging that the accused, along with others, lured investors with promises of 8% fixed monthly returns and doubling of investment within 25 months through so-called algorithm-based trading schemes.
• The complainants stated that investments were taken from the public through entities such as Trade Cops Pvt. Ltd., Tradecops Financial Services, and Tradecop Portfolio LLP.
• It was further claimed that the accused persons misrepresented and induced that they had collectively designed in-house algorithms in the financial market and could generate more than 20% monthly returns. 
• The prosecution claims that the accused initially paid returns to gain trust, but later stopped payments and disappeared without refunding the invested amounts. 
• It has been stated that complaints from 74 victims involving approximately Rs 3 crore have been received so far, while the total number of victims may exceed 2000, with the overall amount collected estimated at around Rs 100 crore.
• It was also highlighted that a SEBI circular dated September 2, 2022, prohibits offering returns linked to algorithm-based trading strategies.

Arguments

Advocate Ujwal Ghai, appearing for the accused, submitted that his client has been granted default bail in three cases by trial courts and regular bail in another case by the Punjab and Haryana High Court.

He further submitted that since the children of the accused are required to be admitted to a school, the presence of their father is necessary for arranging funds for their school fees and other expenses.