More rural investors have come up with complaints seeking the speedy arrests of suspects involved in a major gold investment fraud at Vadakara in Kozhikode. So far, over 100 complainants from Vadakara alone have reportedly lost around ₹9.5 crore.
The police said the operators of the alleged gold investment scheme absconded when investors sought refunds for their deposits. The case has been handed over to the Crime Branch, which has issued a lookout notice for the suspects who reportedly fled the country.
Crime Branch sources said a special squad had been assigned to the probe considering the high number of complaints and large investments. They added that newly filed petitions at local stations would also be examined to probe it as a single case.
The police said some investors reportedly lost up to ₹50 lakh in the fraud, which affected both lower-income groups and financially stable investors. The fraud was reported last year, and fresh complaints had now been filed by rural investors from Perambra, they added.
A woman complainant from Vadakara said she invested in 2021 after being promised ₹1,000 in monthly interest for every ₹1 lakh. She added that some families even sold their land, hoping for higher returns and cost-effective gold purchases.
Noting the high number of complaints, the Directorate of Enforcement (ED) had earlier raided around 10 locations in Kozhikode and Thiruvananthapuram, reportedly seizing investment-related documents from suspected operators of the fraud. The raids also led to the freezing of assets worth ₹80 lakh.
Published – February 12, 2025 08:22 pm IST