Ahmedabad: The Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of the CID Crime division recently arrested several people, including the main accused, involved in a Rs 7 crore scam. Allegedly, the suspect established a company in the UK, enticing 38 individuals to invest with the promise of high returns, only to defraud them.

Ravirajsinh Vaghela, the main accused, was apprehended from Amreli on April 7 and is currently in police custody until April 15.

Vaghela purportedly registered a firm named Right Group Financial Ltd in the UK, promoting it on social media as a forex trading company offering monthly returns between 5% to 7%. Offices were established in Ahmedabad, Bhavnagar, Punjab, and Dubai. The suspects engaged in fictitious trading, providing investors with user IDs and passwords to deposit funds into specific accounts. These accounts were opened under various firms, employees, and relatives of the accused, with funds also channeled through angadia firms in Mumbai. Initially, nominal returns were paid to build trust, but eventually, payments ceased, leading to allegations of fraud and misappropriation.

A complaint was filed with the Cybercrime police in Amreli on August 31, 2023, against several individuals including Pankaj Vaghasia, Shaktisinh Vaghela, Akshrajsinh Vaghela, Gaurav Sojitra, and Vijaysinh Gohil, all of whom were arrested.

The accused face charges under sections 34, 406, 409 and 420 of the Indian Penal Code, the Prize Chits and Money Circulation Schemes (Banning) Act, and the Gujarat Protection of Interest of Depositors Act. It is learned that 38 individuals who lost Rs 7.44 crore have approached the EOW. Two accused persons, Ketan Vatalia and Umesh Lodalia, remain at large.