In a major respite to tens of thousands of investors, including many in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), who allegedly lost their life savings in a multi-crore Ponzi scam perpetrated by India’s Heera Group, there is still hope for recovering their funds.
This was announced by Shahbaz Ahmad Khan, president of the All India Heera Group Victims Association, during his visit to Dubai while speaking to Khaleej Times.
Investors urged to provide documents
Khan urged investors to provide notarized documents, such as bank statements, identity proofs, payment receipts, or evidence of Heera Group investments, to the Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO) in Telangana via post. He emphasized that Middle Eastern investors, despite the delays, should consider filing a claim with the SFIO due to the affordability and potential recovery process.
Heera Gold Scam: Investors file claims
In October 2018, Heera Group collapsed following the arrest of its managing director, Aalima Nowhera Shaikh, in Hyderabad for allegedly running Ponzi schemes marketed as “halal” investment opportunities.
Nowhera was arrested on charges of cheating, criminal breach of trust, and criminal intimidation. She was booked under provisions of the Telangana Deposits of Financial Establishment Act, 1999, and the Prize Chits and Money Circulation Schemes (Banning) Act, 1978.
Heera scam
She operated 15 group companies in India and the Middle East and controlled 160 bank accounts in India. Heera Group had promised investors a 36 percent dividend on gold trading, but these dividends never materialized, leading to multiple FIRs and ongoing legal scrutiny of Heera Gold’s operations in both India and the Middle East.
In November this year, the Indian Supreme Court ordered the Enforcement Directorate (ED) to auction two properties owned by Nowhera to help investors recover significant funds from the alleged scheme.
In the UAE, Heera Group offered three investment plans: Heera Gold, Heera Textiles, and Heera Foodex. These plans promised varying returns and annual profits, with investment amounts ranging between AED 50,000 and AED 100,000.
