Kanpur: A Gujarat-based NRI lodged a complaint against alleged Ponzi scheme kingpin Ravindra Nath Soni (44) on Wednesday, accusing him of cheating him of nearly Rs 1.75 crore through an investment scheme between Oct 2023 and Feb 2024.In his complaint, Chintan Badami alleged that in 2021, Shivani, a relationship manager with Blue Chip Trading, approached him with an investment proposal and assured him of returns of 3% to 3.5% per month.Badami said he invested 1.10 lakh dirhams during 2021-22, followed by another 55,000 dirhams in Oct 2023 and 5 lakh dirhams in Feb 2024, amounting to nearly Rs 1.75 crore.He alleged that in Apr 2024, while he was in Dubai, he learnt that the company’s office had been shut down. Upon his return to India, he approached Kotwali police station and lodged a complaint.However, this is not the only complaint against Soni.The Dubai-based businessman is accused of orchestrating a fraud worth nearly Rs 1,500 crore, and complaints against him have continued to surface even after his arrest.Soni’s downfall began when a Kanpur resident lodged a complaint in Jan 2025, accusing him of defaulting on a cheque worth Rs 42 lakh. Subsequent investigations allegedly revealed a much larger network of financial fraud.In Dec 2025, he was arrested for allegedly duping hundreds of Indians in India and Dubai of nearly Rs 1,500 crore. Investigators suspect the fraud may have involved cryptocurrency transactions, hawala channels and operations across multiple countries.Several FIRs have been registered against him, including one in Dubai and others in Aligarh, Kanpur Nagar, Delhi and Panipat.According to police, Soni, a resident of Malviya Nagar in Delhi, shifted to Dubai several years ago and allegedly floated around a dozen shell companies, including a venture called Blue Chip Trading.Police alleged that he attracted expatriate Indians by promising returns of 30% to 40% through purported forex trading investments.
