EOW books Bhopal businessman for Rs 35.75 crore investment fraud

BHOPAL: The Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of Madhya Pradesh has registered a case of Rs 35.75 crore fraud against a Bhopal-based businessman Dilip Kumar Gupta and his two companies — M/s DG Minerals Pvt.

Ltd. and M/s Shri Maa Cemtech Pvt. Ltd. — for allegedly duping a local investor by manipulating company shares, issuing fake cheques, and using forged documents to siphon off funds.The case was filed following a complaint by Vineet Jain, a resident of Bhopal, who alleged that Gupta lured him into investing crores of rupees in his companies under the pretext of high returns from the mining business. Gupta reportedly convinced Jain and his family to mortgage their properties, claiming the funds would be multiplied within three to four years.Between 2017 and 2018, Vineet Jain transferred Rs 6.89 crore to Gupta’s account via online transactions from the joint bank account he shared with his mother, Lata Jain.To raise the money, the family mortgaged two prime properties in Bhopal’s MP Nagar area. One was Building No 275, Zone-2, mortgaged to ICICI Bank for a Rs 2.75 crore loan, and the other was Building No. 162, Zone-2, mortgaged to PNB Housing Finance for Rs 4.45 crore.

EOW officials found that Jain and his mother, on Gupta’s persuasion, also took top-up loans of Rs 1.47 crore and Rs 52.5 lakh in 2019 — all of which were transferred to Gupta’s companies. Gupta allegedly promised that the EMIs would be paid by his firm and that the investment would yield dividends, but neither the EMIs nor the returns were paid, says a EOW release.The investigation revealed that Gupta issued post-dated cheques worth Rs 7.74 crore and Rs 13 crore to Jain from closed or frozen accounts, both of which bounced.

To cover up the fraud, Gupta sent a fake legal notice to Jain, reversing the allegations.EOW also uncovered that Gupta prepared forged documents claiming to have allotted company shares worth crores to Jain’s mother and mother-in-law at an inflated rate of Rs 12,972 per share, whereas the actual face value was Rs 10 per share. The alleged share allotment was backdated to July 12, 2018, a date when no official board meeting was held.

The company’s real meeting took place on September 3, 2018, during which only small-value shares were allotted at face value.EOW concluded that Gupta duped Jain of Rs 35.75 crore, including the mortgaged property value, investment, and unpaid loans, by using fraudulent means. He not only diverted Jain’s investment but also used it to repay his company’s bank liabilities, transferring over Rs 55 lakh from Jain’s accounts to his company’s loan accounts between 2019 and 2021.To maintain trust, Gupta initially returned Rs 91 lakh as “profit”, but this was found to be a ploy to keep Jain investing further.Based on the findings, the EOW has registered an FIR under Sections for criminal conspiracy, cheating, forgery and use of forged documents against Dilip Kumar Gupta, his companies DG Minerals Pvt. Ltd. and Shri Maa Cemtech Pvt. Ltd., and others involved.