Dubai-based venture capitalist linked to Rs 500-600 cr investment fraud in India: ED

According to ED officials, Lavish Choudhary, a resident of Muzaffarnagar in Uttar Pradesh, orchestrated the scam first uncovered by the Himachal Pradesh Police in 2023, reported ThePrint.

Choudhary, also known as ‘Navab’, ran a multi-level marketing scheme called “Botbro,” claiming to use AI-driven forex trading.

Under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, the ED raided premises linked to shell companies in Delhi, Noida, Rohtak (Haryana), and Shamli (Uttar Pradesh).

These firms' accounts were used to collect investor funds with promises of 5% monthly returns. So far, ED has frozen Rs 170 crore across nearly 30 bank accounts linked to companies such as NPay Box Private Limited, Capter Money Solutions Private Limited, and Tiger Digital Services Private Limited, which allegedly acted as “surrogate” bank accounts.

The ED’s probe follows a case registered by Mandi Police in Himachal Pradesh, where an investment scheme run by Zirakpur-based firm QFX Trade was exposed in November 2023.

The fraud, initially flagged by an investor’s complaint, was valued at Rs 210 crore, impacting about 100 people in Mandi alone.

Investigations by the Himachal Pradesh Police and ED revealed that QFX Trade lured investors with promises of 5% monthly returns and referral commissions.

The scheme operated across Himachal Pradesh (Mandi, Dharamshala, Una), Punjab (Mohali, Zirakpur, Ludhiana), Haryana’s Panipat, Chandigarh, and parts of Gujarat.

Three company directors—Rajendar Sood, Vineet Kumar, and Santosh Sharma—are absconding. Meanwhile, Himachal Pradesh Police arrested Sood’s wife, Neetu Devi, in November 2023 for her alleged role in directing shell companies linked to the scam.

DIG Soumya Sambasivan, who led the probe, said the fraud was exposed after a Mandi-based businessman reported that investors struggled to recruit others and were denied monetary returns. Instead, they were offered luxury trips, leading to suspicion.

Following the Himachal Pradesh Police FIR, ED launched its probe and tracked the money flow from investor deposits to their final destinations. After months of investigation, officials identified around 30 bank accounts pooling investor funds.

On Wednesday, ED searched premises linked to the shell companies, which were allegedly non-operational on paper. The probe expanded over two days, uncovering more evidence.

Choudhary, who fled India after the case was registered, has been hosting extravagant parties in Dubai to lure more investors. After the FIR, he rebranded the scheme as Yorker FX (YFX) while maintaining the same fraudulent tactics.

“During the searches, we froze over Rs 170 crore in bank accounts linked to these shell companies as their directors could not explain the source of funds,” an ED official was quoted as saying by ThePrint.

Authorities also seized Rs 90 lakh in cash from an agent’s premises and uncovered an illicit hawala network.

Choudhary allegedly enticed investors with luxury trips to India, Thailand, and Dubai, along with SUV giveaways.

Investigators found that while investors initially paid in cash or through benami accounts, they were promised returns in a yet-to-be-launched cryptocurrency, TLC 2.0 Coin, scheduled for release in March 2027—effectively locking their investments until then.

ThePrint has contacted Choudhary for a response and will update the report if he comments