EOW Takes Over PanCard Clubs Fraud Probe, Case Against 6 Directors

EOW officer said a case of cheating has been registered under IPC.

(Photo Courtesy: Booking.com)

The Economic Offences Wing (EOW) has taken over the investigation in the PanCard Clubs (PCL) cheating case in which over 50 lakh investors were purportedly cheated of Rs 7,035 crore.

The PCL cheating case is one of the biggest investment fraud cases in Mumbai. PCL, a timeshare company, had come up with schemes for hotel stays, reported Times of India. The company got investors on board and offered holiday packages at the hotels. Investors who did not avail of the holiday packages were promised higher returns, according to the report. The Securities and Exchange Board of India stepped in after an investor complained, and found that the company was running collective investment schemes.

An EOW officer said a case of cheating has been registered under IPC and sections of the Maharashtra Protection of Interest of Depositors (MPID) Act has also been invoked against PCL and six of its directors.

The company's head office at Prabhadevi is now shut, Times of India quoted a police officer as saying.

This comes after SEBI had barred PCL from selling its properties. The company had challenged this order in the Securities Appellate Tribunal (SAT), which upheld the SEBI order.

It was an investor who approached Dadar police station and lodged a cheating complaint of Rs 40,000. That apart, 82 more investors approached EOW with similar complaints against PCL. SEBI officials have told EOW that there are 51 lakh investors and PCL collected Rs 7,035 crore as investment. We have just taken over the probe from the police station and will start collecting documents related to the case and recording of victims’ statements.

<i>Times of India </i>quoted an EOW officer

PCL's investors are mostly from middle-class families and hail from across the country, reported Times of India.