NOIDA: With the Delhi police making the second arrest in the alleged fraud case of Rs 250 crore by the promoters of the “Hello Taxi” scheme, investigators are looking for three officials of the companies including two directors who invested around Rs. 3.5 crores of money for purchasing as many as 60 new Hyundai cars from a Noida showroom.
The accused who had floated a Bike Bot-like scheme which is being investigated by economic offences wing (EOW), Meerut, allegedly collected around Rs 250 crores from over 900 investors and promised to pay a higher rate of interest up to 200 per cent on monthly basis. But the accused neither paid the interest nor returned the invested money, investigators say.
Hello Taxi
operated a multi-level marketing (MLM) scheme in the country and offered
high returns
to the investors via four
plans
including an executive plan for Rs10,000, a micro plan for Rs 35000, a mini-plan for Rs 65,000 and a Prime
Sedanplan
for Rs. 110000 where investors will subscribe to a bike rental plans and would get monthly returns.
Failing to start the “Hello Taxi” bikes, the accused approached the
Nimbus Hyundai
showroom in Noida and bought as many as 60 new Hyundai Accent cars from here out of which 38 were delivered over the past two years.
All these 38 vehicles were registered in Delhi as commercial taxis.
Nimbus Hyundai showroom general manager SN Pathak told TOI that the purchase dates to some two years back and 38 of the total cars were delivered.
“38 of the total cars were delivered to the company. All these vehicles were registered as commercial taxis in Delhi. The rest have not been taken by the accused,” he said.
Delhi EOW says that even the 38 cars who have already been delivered to the company, will now be the case property and recovered through the court.
The remaining 22 vehicles would not be handed over to the company, officials said.
Joint commissioner of police, EOW Delhi, OP Mishra told TOI that the company pulled a Bike-Bot like scam with the only difference that the accused promised a
taxi
on road in place of a bike in the Bike Bot.
Apart from the accused woman who was arrested from Goa, three others remain absconding including Ghazipur-based Sunder Bhati, Harish Bhati and Saroj Mahapatra.
Mishra said the accused have changing places and their teams are raiding multiple states including Uttar Pradesh and NCR region to trace them.
Earlier, Saroj Mahapatra had claimed that he was merely an employee and the scam was pulled off by the rest of the accused but the EOW says he too has been declared as an absconding offender.
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