A First Information Report (FIR) has been filed against Delhi based Medallion Jewellers Private Limited and several of its office-bearers for cheating investors using an alleged cyber-enabled investment scheme. About 40 investors were cheated of Rs 4 crore after they were promised attractive cashback on gold purchases and unusually high returns on investments, the complaint said.
The company promoted a scheme for cashback on gold purchases and even offered a “new booking scheme” for investors to double their investment in 10 to 20 months, investigators said. The complaint filed said that these promises led to the participation of dozens of people in large sums of money.
The complaint was initiated by Manvendra Tiwari who was involved in the company in leadership training between September 2022 and October 2023. He said that after the company’s operations started to cause worry, a few of his fellow staff members who questioned the business model were removed from the company. The complaint says that the company closed down its previous site and launched a new website in a different domain name. Investor records from the previous website are also missing, making it difficult for investors to trace their investments. These allegations are currently under investigation.
Police have named the company's founder and Chief Executive Officer Satyajit Kumar, operations manager Krishna Gaur, chief promoter Rahul Dev Rajak, and Varanasi sales head Ajit Pandey in the FIR. The accused are alleged to have induced investors to deposit money by promising lucrative returns and then failed to honour those commitments. At this stage, these are merely allegations, and no court has made any criminal determination.
The Cyber Crime Police Station has assigned the investigation to Inspector Udayveer Singh. The investigators are checking bank accounts, digital payment records, website activities, electronic evidence, and investment papers to trace the movement of funds and establish the financial trail. They are also looking into whether similar investments were collected from people in other states.
According to a preliminary statement from the company, it had also organized a huge anniversary event in Varanasi earlier this month. Complaints have said that the event was used to project credibility and attract investors. Police said these claims were also being verified as part of the investigation and no conclusions have been made.
Experts in cybercrime continue to caution investors against schemes promising guaranteed high returns, quick doubling of investments, or unusually generous cashback offers. Before investing, the registration of a company, regulatory compliance, financial credentials, and business model must be confirmed by the public. And when investment offers are heavily based on online platforms or digital promotions, their advice is to be cautious.
The police investigation is continuing and Medallion Jewellers and its officials are yet to be tested in court. The evidence will come down to the outcome of the police investigation and subsequent judicial proceedings.
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