Thane, A special court in Maharashtra’s Thane district has sentenced the mastermind of an investment fraud to three years of rigorous imprisonment, and ordered the government authorities to auction his seized properties to repay the money of hundreds of duped investors.
In an order passed on April 9, special court judge G T Pawar, hearing cases registered under the Maharashtra Protection of Interest of Depositors Act, also imposed a fine of ₹2 lakh on the convict, Ramkrut Munshi Yadav, Director of Simbak Agro Plantation Ltd.
The court found Yadav guilty of criminal breach of trust and violations of the MPID Act. However, it acquitted two other accused – Indira Subhas Yadav and Bindu Sudarshan Yadav – citing their resignation from the company and lack of evidence regarding their active involvement in daily transactions.
The case dates back to 1992 when the informant was allegedly lured by Ramkrut Yadav to invest in various schemes promising substantial returns, tax advantages and insurance. The victim became an agent, collecting money from the public for schemes ranging from daily savings and fixed deposits to “agro plantation” plans.
The prosecution established that the company suddenly shut its office in July 2002, leaving more than 200 investors in the lurch.
An offence was then registered against the trio with the Naupada police station in the city.
In its judgement, the court said, “The prosecution has proven beyond reasonable doubt that the accused floated the scheme and accepted deposits from various depositors. They misappropriated the funds entrusted to them and floated the scheme without obtaining permission from the RBI or SEBI”.
“Since the deposits and liability are admitted, no further evidence is required for proof thereof…Their default in repaying the agreed returns is also proved, and they admitted receipt of deposits and liability to repay them,” it said.
The court added, “The Competent Authority, that is Collector, Thane is hereby directed to take necessary steps for obtaining notification from the state government for auction sale of said properties and for distribution of sale proceeds to all investors of their invested amount along with interest as promised by accused.”
The collector is required to report compliance within three months.
Special public prosecutor V G Kadu appeared for the prosecution, while Anil Joshi defended the accused.
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