Rs 260-crore ponzi scamster arrested from Pokhara town in Nepal

The Rs 260-crore ponzi scamster Vinay Shah of Gujarat was arrested by the Nepal police near the capital Kathmandu on Monday, Gujarat police said on Monday.

Shah had been in hiding at his female friend's house in Nepal, sources said.

Haresh Dudhat, Superintendent of Police (SP), CID crime, said, "Vinay Shah has been arrested from Pokhra near Kathmandu. He was in hiding with his woman friend Chandaa Thapa, who works in a spa in Delhi. Right now he's in Nepal police's custody and we already have our teams in Nepal who will get him in our custody after carrying out due procedures."

According to Dudhat, Shah was arrested under various sections of the Foreign Exchange Regulation Act as he carried more currency than is permissible. The Nepal police found Rs 30 lakh cash with Vinay and he was handed over to the revenue department of Nepal.

As India and Nepal are signatories of the extradition treaty, the CID Crime will take Shah's custody after the Nepal authorities give their clearance, he said Dudhat.

"Going through the call details recordings (CDR), our investigations showed that the Shah couple could be hiding in Nepal. We were in constant touch with the Nepal police and had sent a team to Nepal two days ago. The Nepal police called up our DGP, CID (Crime and Railways) to inform him of the arrest," said Dudhat.

Shah carried with him currency of over Rs 30 lakhs in US dollars, pounds and Euros," said Dudhat.

"The CID crime has recorded over 100 testimonies in the case. After the Shah couple disappeared, the police have recovered Rs 43 lakh from his house and around Rs 38 lakh in different bank accounts," said Dudhat.

"We are quite confident that the duped people would recover their money. We also want people to come forward and register their complaints," added Dudhat.

Vinay and his wife Bhargavi had allegedly cheated thousands of investors to the tune of Rs 260 crore through their companies, Archarcare LLP and Digi Locals, police said.

The Vastrapur police has filed three complaints in the case against the Shah couple and two others. The Gujarat government subsequently formed an SIT of CID Crime to investigate the scam.

(With inputs from agencies.)