- Two brothers from Rajasthan are accused of defrauding 70,000 investors of Rs 2,676 crore.
- Subhash and Ranveer Bijarani formed Nexa Evergreen, promising high returns and land in Gujarat's Dholera.
- The scheme included commissions for recruiting investors and rewards like laptops and cars.
Two brothers from Rajasthan - Subhash Bijarani and Ranveer Bijarani - have allegedly duped about 70,000 people of Rs 2,676 crore along with their associates.
The two brothers from the Sikar district formed a company called Nexa Evergreen and allegedly duped investors by promising higher returns and plots of land in the 'Dholera Smart City' in Gujarat. They also cheated investors by showing them pictures of various Dholera city projects.
The scheme also included level income and commissions and rewards for referring others, with percentages varying by levels and rewards such as laptops, bikes, and cars for achieving certain investment milestones. They also promised additional commissions to investors if they could recruit more investors under their unique ID.
'Dholera Smart City Scam'
Ranveer Bijarani first bought land in Dholera in 2014. Subhash, a retired Army personnel, also subsequently bought a land with Rs 30 lakh that he got after retirement.
The two brothers then formed Nexa Evergreen and got it registered in Ahmedabad in 2021.
The company called itself a part of the 'Dholera Smart City' project and claimed that they have 1,300 bighas (a traditional unit of land measurement in India) of land, which is going to be converted into a world-class city.
More than 70,000 people were lured with flats, plots and investment schemes and were promised huge profits.
About Rs 2,676 crore was raised from investors across the country.
They also chose their top officials, including Salim Khan, Sameer, Datar Singh, Rakshapal, Ompal, and Sanwarmal. Through them, they got thousands of agents in Rajasthan, who got huge commissions.
About Rs 1,500 crores were distributed as commission.
They then purchased 1,300 bighas of land with the money from the fraud.
They later bought luxury cars, mines and hotels in Rajasthan, flats in Ahmedabad and 25 resorts in Goa. They took Rs 250 crore in cash and transferred the remaining money to 27 shell companies.
After the alleged fraud, they shut all their offices and fled.
The police in Rajasthan's Jodhpur then filed a case of fraud and launched a probe.
On Thursday, the Enforcement Directorate conducted search operations at 25 locations in Jaipur, Sikar, Jhunjhunu and Ahmedabad in connection with a money laundering investigation related to Nexa Evergreen fraud.
The Real Dholera Smart City Project
The Dholera Smart City project is a joint project between the Centre and Gujarat. This is India's first greenfield smart city and is twice the size of Delhi (920 square km).
An international airport and offices of multinational companies are being built.
It is expected to be developed by 2042.
