In a major breakthrough, the Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of the city arrested two partners involved in a Ponzi scheme that allegedly duped over 100 investors out of Rs 28 crore. The arrested individuals are Hariprasad Venugopal (44), a Kerala native residing in Thane, and Pranav Raorane (43), a mechanical engineer from Mulund.
The two were arrested for promising 24% yearly returns on investments through their company, Moneyedge Group, which was formed in 2013. The firm later expanded into four separate entities: Moneyedge Investment, Moneyedge Fincorp, Moneyedge Realtors, and Moneyedge Capital Services. Investigators suggest that the total amount of cheating may eventually reach Rs 100 crore, with about 3,000 investors being affected.
The duo was presented before a court and remanded in police custody until January 22. Meanwhile, authorities are searching for two wanted accused in the case—Rajiv Jadhav and Priya Prabhu, a former postal department employee—who are also linked to the fraudulent operations of the company.