THANE: The Economic Offences Wing (EOW) has arrested a couple and their associate, who allegedly swindled more than 11,000 investors, including police officials, from across Maharashtra of over Rs 500 crore, police said on Saturday.
In a coordinated action, the Thane police’s EOW tracked down the accused, Sameer Narvekar, his wife Neha, and their associate Amit Palaw, in neighbouring Gujarat on Thursday, an official said.
According to police, the accused established an investment company, Trade with Jazz, with its headquarters in Pune in 2019, offering a scheme that allegedly drew in more than 11,000 people, including 1,500 police personnel, from across Maharashtra.
The trio allegedly lured victims with promises of a 4 per cent monthly return on stock market trading and allied ventures, the official said, adding that the firm projected monthly earnings of nearly 10 per cent to build credibility.
The company abruptly shut its offices and stopped responding to investors, prompting a flood of police complaints, he said.
According to the initial probe, investors have been defrauded of around Rs 500 crore.
The official said that the EOW has also gathered information suggesting that several government officials and bureaucrats, some of them retired from service, had invested in the scheme.
The trio have been booked under the Maharashtra Protection of Interest of Depositors (MPID) Act, 1999, and sections 61(2) (criminal conspiracy) and 316(5) (criminal breach of trust) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, he said.
The Thane EOW is examining bank accounts, financial documents and money flows linked to the accused, and further arrests are likely, the official said.