Buying gold has always been a safe, secure and profitable form of investment for a sizable part of the population. The main goal of the gold savings plan is to lower the cost and simplify the process of purchasing gold. With gold savings plans, you can set aside money each month for a predetermined amount of time in instalments. But before making an investment in any such scheme, one should exercise caution. A scam involving a gold saving scheme has surfaced right before Dhanteras.
The proprietor of Pranav Jewellers is facing charges of cheating by the Economic Offences Wing (EOW) for allegedly defrauding depositors, who had made investments in the company’s chit fund scam. The investment plan was launched by the firm in January this year. The jeweller stopped taking calls from consumers two weeks before the 10-month programme was about to end. The police were contacted when individuals did not receive their promised jewellery.
The jewellery business abruptly closed all of its locations in Trichy, Chennai, Nagercoil, Kumbakonam, and Coimbatore, surprising the depositors who had invested money into its chit fund plan. EOW teams led by Deputy Superintendents of Police searched the jewellery stores on the Karur By Pass road and the Rockfort neighbourhood in Trichy. The EOW teams also conducted simultaneous searches at the closed jewellery stores in Chennai, Nagercoil, Kumbakonam, Coimbatore, and Erode.
The proprietors of the chain of stores, Madhan and his wife Karthika, are facing charges under the Tamil Nadu Protection of Interests of Depositors (In Financial Establishments) Act, as well as sections 406 (criminal breach of trust), 420 (cheating), and 120 b (criminal conspiracy) of the IPC. Narayanan, the manager of the outlet’s Trichy branch, was detained by the EOW two weeks back.
According to guidelines released by the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, a jeweller is not permitted to invest more than 25% of his net worth in the Advance Purchase or Gold Savings schemes. Jewellers nevertheless promote these schemes, and investors lose money.
[…] Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of Tamil Nadu Police, which is probing a case registered against Pranav Jewellers for allegedly cheating depositors through a chit fund scheme, on Monday issued lookout notices […]