Hyderabad: The Directorate of Enforcement (ED), Hyderabad Zonal Office on Tuesday arrested Aryan Singh, Chief Operating Officer of Capital Protection Force Private Limited, under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002 in connection with an ongoing investigation against Capital Protection Force Private Limited, Amardeep Kumar, and others. Aryan Singh was produced before the Special PMLA Court on Wednesday and the court has remanded him to 14 days of judicial custody.
The ED initiated an investigation on the basis of three FIRs registered by the Economic Offence Wing, Cyberabad, wherein it was alleged that Amardeep Kumar, Capital Protection Force Private Limited, and others fraudulently cheated gullible investors on the pretext of high returns on their investments.
The ED found that Capital Protection Force Private Limited, in the name and style of the ‘Falcon invoice discounting scheme’, lured investors on the pretext of providing funds for invoice discounting in exchange for promising returns based on the invoices discounted, but failed to repay their invested amounts. Amardeep Kumar was the mastermind behind the scam and he developed the Falcon invoice app to receive deposits from the investors. The investigation revealed that in reality, no business of invoice discounting was carried out and the accused cheated investors to the tune of approximately Rs. 792 Crore.
The ED investigation revealed that Aryan Singh, in his capacity as Chief Operating Officer of Capital Protection Force, was actively managing the operations of the fraudulent “Falcon Invoice Discounting” scheme in collusion with the mastermind Amardeep Kumar. Although Aryan Singh had complete knowledge of the fact that there was no genuine business activity, he lured unsuspecting investors into the scheme. Aryan Singh managed a team of employees who not only promoted the fraudulent business but also interacted with investors to gain their confidence. He also assisted Amardeep Kumar in diverting the invested funds and personally benefited by receiving Proceeds of Crime amounting to Rs. 2.88 Crore in his five personal bank accounts as well as the bank account of his entity ‘Karaoi (OPC)’.
The ED had earlier seized a Hawker 800 A aircraft in the case; attached movable and immovable properties worth Rs. 18.14 Crore; and arrested Sandeep Kumar (brother of main accused Amardeep Kumar) and Shard Chandra Toshniwal, Chartered Accountant.
Further investigation is in progress.
