LUCKNOW: In a major breakthrough in one of Uttar Pradesh’s biggest alleged investment fraud cases, fugitive economic offender Rashid Naseem, promoter of the Shine City Group, was arrested in the United Arab Emirates, officials confirmed on Friday. Naseem faces 554 FIRs registered by UP Police against him and the Lucknow-based Shine City Group. According to investigators, the group allegedly collected between Rs 800 crore and Rs 1,000 crore from investors through fraudulent real estate schemes and multi-level marketing operations, luring them with promises of high returns. He also faces a multi-agency probe. Despite the issuance of a non-bailable warrant, a Look-Out Circular, and an Interpol Red Notice, Naseem fled India via Nepal. The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) made a fresh appeal to the Dubai government on January 29 seeking the extradition of Naseem. A detailed dossier was shared with UAE authorities outlining proceedings against him under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) and the Fugitive Economic Offenders Act (FEOA). A Special PMLA court in Lucknow, on April 30, 2025, declared Naseem a fugitive economic offender. The order was passed by Special Judge Rahul Prakash on an application moved by the ED’s Lucknow zonal office. With this declaration, Naseem joined a select list of high-profile economic offenders such as Vijay Mallya and Nirav Modi who were declared fugitives under the FEOA since its enactment in 2018. Officials described the order as a landmark ruling—the first of its kind in Uttar Pradesh and among only a few nationwide—paving the way for confiscation of his assets and expediting trial proceedings. The Enforcement Directorate (ED) had provisionally attached assets worth Rs 127.98 crore linked to Naseem. In December 2025, the Lucknow court ordered confiscation of these assets as part of the FEOA proceedings. Officials said that on Friday morning, a unit of the CBI informed the MEA about Naseem’s arrest in Dubai. A senior official said that efforts are now underway to bring Naseem back to India through due legal procedures as per the laws of the UAE.
