Delhi Police nab husband-wife duo from Goa in Rs 22cr fraud case

The Delhi Police's Economic Offences Wing (EOW) has arrested a couple -- who was on the run for the last four years, for cheating a non-banking financial company (NBFC) to the tune of Rs 22 crore on the basis of forged property papers, an official said on Wednesday. 

The officials said that the husband and wife --  identified as Vikas Shandilya a.k.a. Vikas Sharma and M. Sharma -- were arrested from their residence after consistent field efforts of more than 10 days in various nooks and corners of north Goa. 

The couple was running an eatery in Goa. 

"Inspired by a recent web series, Kohra, the police team ordered food online from local eateries to identify the food delivery business being clandestinely run by the husband-wife duo while they were hiding in Goa," said a senior police officer. 

The arrest comes after a case was registered on the complaint of a reputed NBFC, wherein it was alleged that one Amrit Mann, a DSA, alongwith Nilanjan Majumdar, Sales Manager and Nitesh Kumar, Reporting Manager, were supposed to source genuine proposals of applicants seeking a Loan against Property (LAP) from complainant-company. 

"Mann, who formerly managed a sales agency, collaborated with Majumdar, the sales manager at the complainant company, to secure deals from businesses seeking property-based loans," said a senior police officer. 

"One of the accused, M Sharma, associated with a company named M/s Sewaa Apparels, applied for a property loan of Rs 5 crore. An amount of Rs 4.11 crore was approved on August 31, 2017. In this case, M/s Sewaa Apparels acted as the borrower, with Gaurav Sharma, Vikas' mother, and Vikas' wife as co-borrowers. The loan was obtained using a property in Roop Nagar, Delhi, as an equitable mortgage. Subsequently, consistent defaults in loan repayment occurred," said the official. 

Upon investigation, it was discovered that property documents submitted by Vikas' mother to the complainant company were forged. 

Moreover, she had even sold the property to another buyer. 

"Further scrutiny of M/s Sewaa Apparels' accounts revealed that after receiving the loan, the company engaged in transactions with three other firms, along with Amrit Maan, Ambika Maan, and Nilanjan Mazumdar. These individuals were identified as co-conspirators in the fraud," said the Joint Commissioner of Police (EOW) Sindhu Pillai. 

According to the police, Vikas established a partnership firm, M/s Sewaa Apparels, under his mother's and wife's names. 

He used fake documents related to the Roop Nagar property to secure a loan of Rs 4.11 crore from a NBFC, which was subsequently misappropriated. 

During the loan application process, Vikas had provided an affidavit to the complainant company indicating his consent for his mother and supposed brother Gaurav to obtain the loan. 

However, investigations revealed that Gaurav was not, in fact, his brother. 

"Vikas and his wife had been evading the authorities by moving across different cities with various identities. Eventually, their location was traced to Goa. Subsequent raids in North Goa led to their arrest," said the police officer.