Nizampet couple accused of ₹12-crore chit fund fraud; 52 investors duped
HYDERABAD: Cyberabad’s Economic Offences Wing (EOW) has booked a Nizampet based couple for allegedly cheating 52 investors of over ₹12.06 crore through a chit fund network operated from their residence.
According to the complaint by P Praveen Kumar, a 40-year-old private employee from Nizampet, Mohammed Ali and his wife Mohammed Reshma Jabeen had been running an unregistered chit scheme for several years before incorporating a private chit fund company in 2016. Kumar said he had joined three chit groups worth ₹50 lakh, ₹30 lakh and ₹20 lakh in 2021, paying ₹34 lakh in total, but never received any returns.
Victims say couple vanished after promising repayment
In October, the couple allegedly informed members that the business had suffered heavy losses and promised to sell their house to repay the money. Soon after, they locked their house and went missing. “We cannot trace them; they have been unreachable for 10 days,” the complainant told police.
Investigators said at least 52 investors including homemakers, small traders and IT employees Nizampet transferred monthly instalments via UPI to the couple’s linked accounts. Their accountant, Mahesh, allegedly forged receipts, while aides Karim and Ahmed Ali handled collections. Another associate, Deepthi, is suspected to have helped launder the funds.
Case registered under financial and criminal laws
The EOW has registered a case under Sections 316(2) (criminal breach of trust) and 318(4) (cheating) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita; Section 5 of the Telangana Protection of Depositors in Financial Establishments Act; the Prize Chits and Money Circulation Schemes (Banning) Act; and Sections 4 and 11 of the Chit Funds Act.
An EOW officer said teams were searching for the couple and their associates and urged other victims to contact EOW Cyberabad.
