29 December,2010 07:03 AM IST | | Ketan Ranga
After MiD DAY broke the news about an alleged multi-crore investment fraud by music director Shravan Rathod and five of his associates yesterday ('Shravan in get-rich scam'), he defended himself saying he had nothing to do with the company. But MiD DAY's findings reveal something else.u00a0
In a press conference to clarify his role, Shravan tried to thwart the accusations, saying he had left the company that floated the schemes within a month of its launch. Also, he said, all the investors were paid their dues in full, and that his name was being sullied needlessly.
But MiD DAY found that the first illegality that Shravan and the associates committed was that of starting a company without any registration whatsoever. They promoted and advertised their firm Asian Ideal Marketing without any registration, but marketed and distributed pamphlets about its schemes.
As per a complaint filed by an investor, the company used Shravan's reasonably good reputation to sell shady schemes and lure investors. Most investments were made in cash so there was no paper trail. The money made by the schemes was deposited in personal bank accounts of the company associates, instead of the company's account.
Advocate Dhirendra Yadav, who filed the grievance for the complainant, said, "They have committed a huge fraud. They started a company without registering it, which is a violation of RBI norms.
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They shut the website within three months, which is also a cyber crime." He added that all investors have not come forward because their individual investments were small. Though, overall it was a huge amount.
Vishal Bhagat, an associate of the firm, has also told MiD DAY that they shut down the firm within two months, as it was not registered.
Meanwhile, the police from Sundernargar in Ranchi have been investigating the matter after it was handed over to them.
