ED arrests Falcon Group chief Amardeep Kumar in Rs 792 cr fake invoice scam

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has arrested Amardeep Kumar, who leads Falcon Capital Protection Force Private Ltd, also called the Falcon Group. He was taken into custody as part of a money-laundering investigation into an alleged Rs 792 crore fake invoice-discounting scam that deceived thousands of investors across India.

Kumar, who has been seen as the main person behind the scheme, was arrested under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). His arrest is a major step in the ongoing crackdown on what investigators call a Ponzi scheme disguised as invoice financing.

The ED says Capital Protection Force Pvt Ltd attracted investors using the “Falcon Invoice Discounting” app and website (www.falconsgrup.com), offering returns of 11-22 per cent on short-term deposits from 45 to 180 days. The platform falsely claimed to work with well-known companies like Britannia, Amazon, and Godrej. In truth, there were no real business deals. The company used fake invoices, made-up vendor profiles, and heavy digital marketing on Google, YouTube, social media, and through phone calls to collect money.

Since 2021, the company has reportedly collected over Rs 4,215 crore from about 7,056 depositors, and around 4,065 of these investors lost Rs 792 crore when the scheme collapsed in January 2025. The offices closed suddenly, and repayments stopped.

New deposits were used to pay earlier investors. At the same time, most of the money went to personal luxuries and unrelated businesses, including equity investments, unsecured loans to shell companies, real estate, and other expensive assets.

Kumar allegedly splurged nearly Rs 21 crore on a Goa casino between 2021 and 2023. A Hawker 800A private jet, seized at Rajiv Gandhi International Airport in March 2025, was auctioned by the ED earlier this month for Rs 3 crore, the agency’s first such aircraft sale, with proceeds earmarked for victim compensation. The agency has provisionally attached immovable properties worth Rs 18.14 crore in the names of Kumar, his family members, and linked firms like Rhett Healthcare Pvt Ltd and Rhett Herbal Pvt Ltd. Other seized assets include luxury cars, gold, cash, shares, and recoveries approaching Rs 43 crore.

Kumar was arrested after several key associates were also taken into custody. These include his brother Sandeep Kumar, who was the operations head; chartered accountant Sharad Chandra Toshniwal, who is accused of handling finances and hiding money through benami investments and cash deals worth Rs 14.81 crore; and executives such as Aryan Singh Chhabra. The ED has filed a prosecution complaint in the PMLA court, explaining how the accused moved and laundered illegal funds through legitimate-looking businesses.

The case began with several FIRs filed by the Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of the Cyberabad Police. These were later handed over to the Telangana CID, which charged the accused with cheating, criminal breach of trust, and conspiracy under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and the Telangana Protection of Depositors Act. Kumar had been on the run, reportedly escaping to Dubai and travelling through the Middle East before returning, a move that led to his arrest.

Thousands of investors, including many from Bengaluru and other states, are facing severe financial hardship. Many middle-class depositors parked their life savings, lured by the app’s ease and apparent legitimacy. Red flags, such as agreements signed on dubious letterheads and unrealistic returns, were overlooked amid promises of quick gains. The ED’s probe continues to map the full money trail, including links to cryptocurrency, hospitality, aviation, and dairy ventures.

Officials say more assets may be seized and more arrests could happen as they try to recover as much money as possible.