Hyderabad: A case has been registered against a private finance firm and its directors following allegations of defrauding over 400 depositors of Rs 200 crore by promising high-interest rates. The Hyderabad police took action on Monday based on a complaint filed by a 70-year-old man and several other investors.
According to the police, the case has been filed under Sections 406 (criminal breach of trust), 420 (cheating), and other relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code, as well as provisions of the TSPDFE Act. The Central Crime Station (CCS), a wing of Hyderabad Police, is handling the investigation.
The complaint details how two directors of the firm, based in Abids, Hyderabad, lured investors with schemes promising returns of 18 to 24 percent. Trusting these promises, the elderly complainant invested Rs 6 lakh between 2012 and 2015.
The complainant also alleged that the wife of one director, who serves as a General Manager at a cooperative bank in Hyderabad, leveraged her position to market the investment schemes to bank customers.
Initially, the firm paid monthly returns regularly until January 2024. However, payments ceased afterward. When the complainant visited the firm’s office, he found it closed. He soon discovered that many other investors had been similarly duped. Attempts to contact the directors were unsuccessful, as their phones were switched off, and their residences were locked with their whereabouts unknown.
The FIR reveals that the directors of the finance firm had allegedly defrauded around 400 to 500 people, absconding with approximately Rs 200 crore. The complainants have urged the police to investigate thoroughly and recover the defrauded amount.
Earlier, a large number of aggrieved depositors gathered at the CCS to voice their concerns and demand action.
