The CBI has registered an FIR to investigate the Bike Bot scam worth at least Rs 15,000 crore, a financial swindle in Uttar Pradesh that surpasses the Punjab National Bank fraud case (worth Rs 13,500 crore) involving diamond traders Nirav Modi and Mehul Choksi.

According to the FIR, Sanjay Bhati, Chief Managing Director of Noida-based Bike Bot, along with 14 others, allegedly cheated investors of around Rs 15,000 crore across the country.

The accused had allegedly floated highly lucrative investment plans in the guise of a bike-taxi service by the name of Bike Bot. A customer could invest in one, three, five, or seven bikes, which would be maintained and operated by the company.

The investor would be paid monthly rent, EMI and bonus (in case of investment in multiples of bikes) and further incentives on adding additional investors in a binary structure.

The company also allegedly allotted franchisees in various cities but the bikes and taxis hardly operated in these cities.

The dubious investments plans were floated in August 2017 and the collection of money from investors, customers and repayments to them continued till early 2019. In November 2018, the company floated similar plans for e-bikes, stating that the petrol bikes were facing issues related to registration and operation.

The subscription amount for the e-bikes was almost double the investment amounts for regular petrol bikes.

“It is further alleged that in order to extract money from investors with ill motive the company made advertisement that ‘BIKE BOT -- THE BIKE TAXI POWERED BY GIPL’ scheme will enclosed very soon and that person desirous of availing scheme must deposit money hurriedly. On such advertisement, about 2,00,000 investors invested money, however, fact remains that complaints were submitted and fraudulent activity of the company was in the knowledge of the Noida district authority as well as police authorities who did not take any action. Rather, the SSP and the SP crime branch pressurised the complainants to withdraw their complaints,” read the CBI FIR registered on October 21.

Under a pre-planned conspiracy, Bhati and his associates cheated and defrauded investors and collected at least Rs 15,000 crore across the country in the name of bike taxi business and misappropriated the money thus collected, the FIR further alleged.