Source Credit: NDTV
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has seized a business jet in relation to its ongoing money laundering investigation against a Ponzi scheme worth Rs 850 crore.
The case includes, among others, Falcon Group (Capital Protection Force Pvt. Ltd.) and its chairman and managing director, Amar Deep Kumar. Sources said the company duped thousands of investors through this illegal investment scheme.
The scam, as claimed by the authorities, was about the so-called invoice discounting through which the Falcon Group raised about Rs 1,700 crore from investors, promising them high returns.
However, only about Rs 850 crore was realized, leaving a total of 6,979 investors unpaid amounts. The main accused in the case is Kumar, who is believed to have escaped this country in the same seized jet.
The 8-seater business jet, Hawker 800A (N935H), on Friday landed at the Rajiv Gandhi International Airport in Hyderabad. Under Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), the ED searched the jet, which was purchased for around USD 1.6 million (or Rs 14 crore) in 2024. It was seized after investigators found it was purchased from the suspected proceeds of the Ponzi scheme.
Government sources said Kumar, along with one more, had used the jet on January 22 to leave India. ED has not stopped here, carrying on the investigation by taking on-record statements from the jet's crew and a close associate of Kumar. This is a significant step and will be of monumental importance in the future investigation concerning this high-profile financial fraud.
