ED Attaches Over Rs 112-Crore Worth Assets In Noida 'Bike Bot' Ponzi Case

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Wednesday said it has attached assets of over Rs 112 crore in the Noida "bike bot" ponzi scheme money laundering case.

The Greater Noida-headquartered 'bike bot' taxi service is accused of duping about Rs 3,000 - Rs 4,000 crore from 2.25 lakh investors in multiple states including Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Haryana.

The attached properties belong to Garvit Innovative Promoters Ltd (GIPL), its promoter Sanjay Bhati and other associate entities involved in the 'bike bot' scam, the ED said in a statement.

A provisional order has been issued under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) to attach immovable properties worth Rs 107.01 crore in the form of flats in 'Saga Habitat' project of Zenith Township Pvt Ltd, university, land and buildings of Arni University, Kangra Himachal Pradesh, under-construction towers in 'Amadeus' project of Saha Infratech Private Limited and under construction towers in 'White House Project' of Nobel Build tech, it said.

Fixed deposits worth Rs 5.35 crore have also been attached. The total attachment is worth Rs 112.36 crore. The ED case is based on an FIR of the Noida Police against the accused company, its promoter Bhati and others. "GIPL and Bhati, along with others, had floated highly lucrative investment plans in the guise of a 'bike taxi' service by the name of 'bike bot' where a customer could invest in 1, 3, 5 or 7 bikes which would be maintained and operated by the company and the investor would be paid monthly rent, EMI and bonus (in case of investment in multiple bikes) and further incentives on adding additional investors in a binary or multi-level marketing structure," it said.

The company, the ED said, also allotted franchisees in various cities but the bike taxi hardly operated in these cities. The plans were floated in Aug-2017 and the collection of money from investors/ customers and repayments to them continued till early 2019, it said. In November 2018, the company floated similar plans for e-bikes stating that the petrol bikes were facing issues regarding registration and operation. "The subscription amount for the e-bikes was almost double the investment amounts for regular petrol bikes," it said.

"An analysis of bank accounts shows that the funds have been diverted to purchase some immovable properties in the name of Garvit Innovative Promoters Ltd and also to take control of the trusts running the various institutes." "A huge fund was parked/diverted to the companies and various trusts without any proper documentation," it said, adding assets worth a total Rs 216 crore have been attached in this case till now.

(PTI)