Several kilograms of gold and silver and cash worth over Rs 4 crore were seized by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Friday from Gujarat's Mehsana district as part of a money laundering investigation linked to a major stock market investment fraud.
Among the items recovered by the Ahmedabad unit of the ED were 110 kg of silver bars and coins worth Rs 2.4 crore, 1.2 kg of gold worth around Rs 1.7 crore, and 39 kg of silver jewellery. The ED also seized cash worth Rs 38 lakh, foreign currency worth at least Rs 10.6 lakh, and several documents related to multiple properties.
A case has been registered against the mastermind of the scam, Himanshu, alias Pintu Bhavsar, and others under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
According to a statement by the ED, the accused lured common people with promises of high returns by investing in the stock market and later defrauded them by not returning investments.
Bhavsar and his associates allegedly set up offices in Mehsana, Visnagar, and Vadnagar, where they hired several employees to make repeated phone calls to potential investors.
"During the investigation, it came to light that at least six more FIRs were registered by police in different states involving a total fraud amount to the tune of Rs 10.8 crores," the ED said.
The probe agency also said that Bhavsar misused his Investment Adviser Certificate issued by the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI). While Bhavsar held the certificate individually, it was used by unregistered companies, including Vishwas Stocks Research Private Limited, Dalal Stocks Advisory, and Devki Stocks – which were not authorizsed to offer investment advice.
