ED detains an SP politician in a Ponzi-related money-laundering case in Uttar Pradesh
The Samajwadi Party’s state secretary for Uttar Pradesh was detained by the Enforcement Directorate on Monday after they conducted a search at his Noida residence as part of a money laundering probe involving the suspected Ponzi scheme known as “Bike Bot.”
Dinesh Kumar Singh, also known as Dinesh Singh Gujjar, was detained by the ED on July 21 and held there till July 26 after his detention, according to a statement from the agency.
The money laundering case is the result of several FIRs that the Uttar Pradesh Police filed as a result of complaints from investors about the ‘Bike Bot’ hoax that Garvit Innovative Promoters Ltd. (GIPL), its promoter Sanjay Bhati, and others are accused of committing.
According to the ED, Bhati and others are accused of launching a successful investment scheme in 2017 under the name “BIKE BOT.”
According to the plan, a client might invest in 1, 3, 5 or 7 motorcycles, which the firm would maintain and run. Investors would get monthly rental payments, EMI payments, and bonuses (in the event of investments in multiple bikes) in exchange for their investments. The ED said that the cash acquired in this way were “rotated in a manner akin to a Ponzi scheme” and eventually used to create assets in the names of the firm and other people.
The ED described Dinesh Singh Gujjar’s role as a politician who “used his network to locate beneficiaries of the proceeds of crime generated through the “Bike Bot scam” and by disregarding his relationships with the ED officials, cast pressure or enticement on his victims to extract money that directly or indirectly was a part of the proceeds of crime.” The agency also said that “incriminating” material was found on the properties that were examined.
