Mumbai: A special court under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) on Monday released 10 co-accused on bond in a ₹1,100-crore alleged Ponzi-style investment scam linked to chartered accountant Amber Dalal, observing that custody cannot be invoked at the trial stage as none of them had been arrested during the investigation.
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) case is based on a March 2024 FIR registered by the Economic Offences Wing (EOW). Investigators allege that Dalal, proprietor of M/s Ritz Consultancy Services, lured investors with promises of fixed monthly returns of 1.5% to 1.8% through claimed arbitrage and commodity trading, despite lacking registration with SEBI or authorisation to accept such deposits.
According to the ED, the operation functioned as a Ponzi scheme, with investor funds diverted to cover trading losses and to pay earlier investors. The charge sheet states that ₹1,146.24 crore was collected from 2,015 investors, of which ₹581.90 crore was repaid, leaving dues of about ₹564.33 crore — treated as proceeds of crime.
The ED has alleged that the funds were layered through multiple bank accounts and entities via a network of intermediaries who sourced investors for commissions. A portion was allegedly siphoned off for asset purchases and personal expenses, including remittances of ₹4.27 crore to Dubai and over ₹4.19 crore paid to the Emaar Group for property, besides credit card bills, vehicle EMIs and other outlays.
Those released on bond include alleged aggregators Mohan Shrikant Prabhudesai and Payal Nitin Magiya of VRPM Investment Pvt Ltd; Vijay Gopal Bhatia of Maxroi Consultancy, accused of diverting over ₹20 crore as brokerage; and intermediaries Rushabh Shah and Ashit Shah, who allegedly routed funds through personal and family accounts.
Others granted relief are Kunal Mandaliya, Sanjay Doshi and Ajay Dave, accused of receiving proceeds as commission, along with Sunil Bhandari of Mars Advisors Pvt Ltd and Utkarsh Parasrampuria, both allegedly linked to handling tainted funds.
The court had earlier taken cognisance of the offence on January 24 last year against Dalal and co-accused Rashmi Prasad. A supplementary prosecution complaint filed last month named additional accused, taking the total to over 20.
After the 10 co-accused appeared pursuant to summons on Monday, the court noted in similar orders that the ED had not exercised its arrest powers under Section 19 of the PMLA during the probe. Rejecting the agency’s plea citing flight risk and possible delays or absconding, the court held that custody cannot be used merely to secure an accused’s presence and that such concerns can be addressed through conditions.
All 10 were released on personal bonds of ₹1 lakh each with sureties.
