Ahmedabad: A retiree has accused the directors and managers of an investment company of cheating him and several investors of Rs 21.8 lakh by allegedly failing to honour fixed deposit and monthly income schemes after collecting investments over several years.An FIR was registered with Navrangpura police on Thursday against the directors and managers of Unique Mercantile India Ltd on charges of cheating and criminal breach of trust.According to the FIR, the complainant joined the company as an agent in July 2015 after being introduced to its investment schemes by company representatives. The company allegedly promised attractive commissions to agents and returns through fixed deposit, monthly income, and recurring deposit schemes. The complainant claimed the directors regularly addressed meetings where agents were encouraged to enrol more investors with assurances of higher incentives.The FIR states that the complainant also invested in multiple monthly income schemes, debentures and other products between 2018 and 2019. He also persuaded several relatives and customers to invest in the schemes, including fixed deposits and recurring deposits with varying tenures.According to the complaint, the total investment made by the complainant and the investors introduced by him amounted to around Rs 16 lakh. They were allegedly promised returns of Rs 23.7 lakh on maturity. The company paid interest, commissions and part payments until 2020, after which the payments stopped.The complainant alleged that whenever investors approached the company after the schemes matured in 2024 and 2025, the management cited different reasons for the delay.Initially, company officials allegedly blamed the pandemic and assured investors that dues would be cleared at the earliest. However, despite repeated follow-ups, the money was not repaid, and the company’s office was eventually shut, the FIR states.Police said the complainant alleged that only about Rs 1.9 lakh was repaid in instalments, leaving outstanding dues of Rs 21.8 lakh to him and the investors he had brought into the schemes.
