The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has attached assets worth over Rs 100 crore in the multi-level marketing Bikebot scam.
The ED has attached movable and immovable assets to the tune of Rs 103.73 crore of Garvit Innovative Promoters Ltd. (GIPL), its promoter Sanjay Bhati and others in the scam under Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
Attached assets include 26 immovable properties worth Rs 101.45 crore situated in Gautam Buddh Nagar, Ghaziabad, Bulandshahar, Kanpur and Indore along with bank balances in 22 bank accounts amounting to Rs 2.28 crore.
PMLA investigation into the scam was taken up in June 2019 on the basis of FIRs registered at Dadri police station in Gautam Buddh Nagar (Noida) against the accused firm and its promoter Sanjay Bhati and others.
GIPL and its promoter Sanjay Bhati, along with others, had floated highly lucrative investment plans in the guise of a Bike Taxi service styled as Bikebot, wherein a customer could invest in one, three, five or seven bikes which would be maintained and operated by the company. In return, the investor would be paid monthly rent, EMI and bonuses (in case of investment in multiple bikes) and further incentives on adding additional investors in a binary/multi-level marketing structure.
The company also allotted franchisees in various cities but the bike taxi hardly operated in these cities. The 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 regarding registration and operation. The subscription amount for the e-bikes was almost double the investment amounts for regular petrol bikes. The funds so collected have been used for repayment to the earlier investors, acquisition of other companies, purchase/creation of various immovable and movable assets in the name of companies and also transfer to other companies and individuals as loans and investments without proper documentation.
Earlier, searches were conducted at 12 locations incriminating documents, including property papers were seized. Survey conducted in a co-operative bank in Noida revealed suspicious transactions and involvement of some banking officials in aiding and abetting the accused in laundering of the public money, the agency said.
“Investigation conducted so far has resulted in identification of 19 immovable properties in Gautam Buddh Nagar, Ghaziabad, Bulandshahar, Kanpur and Indore in the name of GIPL along with seven other properties,” the ED said in a statement.