Ponzi scam crackdown: ED attaches assets worth Rs 17.91 crore in Meghalaya

Shillong, Dec 12 (PTI) The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has provisionally attached assets worth Rs 17.91 crore in connection with a pan-India Ponzi scam run through the fraudulent investment website, officials said Friday.

The attachment was carried out on December 10 by the ED's Shillong Sub-Zonal Office under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002, which includes 13 immovable and seven movable properties, among them several luxury cars allegedly acquired using proceeds of crime.

The money laundering probe stems from an FIR filed by the CID, Meghalaya Police, on the basis of a complaint from the RBI, Shillong, followed by a chargesheet under various IPC provisions against individuals involved in the scheme operated under the banner 'Pearlvine International'.

According to the ED, Pearlvine International - an unrecognised entity that falsely projected itself as a US-based company - lured investors with lucrative schemes, collected a minimum membership fee of Rs 2,250, and ran a Ponzi network across India from 2018 to March 2023. The operators also held seminars nationwide to solicit investments, at one point claiming over 80 lakh members in India and abroad in 2022.

Investigators estimate that the entity collected at least Rs 1,575 crore, of which Rs 395.35 crore was never returned to investors.

The probe has identified Neeraj Kumar Gupta as the key perpetrator, who purchased the domain pearlvine.com in November 2015 and organised promotional seminars in India and Thailand.

With the latest action, total attachments in the case have risen to Rs 54.98 crore, including an earlier attachment of Rs 37.07 crore, the ED added.

Further investigation is underway. PTI JOP RG