The Enforcement Directorate has attached assets worth ₹103.73 crore belonging to Garvit Innovative Promoters Limited, its promoter Sanjay Bhati and others in connection with the Bikebot scam case.
They include 26 immovable properties located in Uttar Pradesh’s Gautambudh Nagar, Ghaziabad, Bulandshahr and Kanpur; and Indore in Madhya Pradesh, besides 22 bank accounts with a balance of ₹2.28 crore.
The ED had started the money-laundering probe in June last year, based on the FIRs registered at the Dadri police station in Gautambudh Nagar against the company, Mr. Bhati and others. They were accused of cheating about 2.25 lakh investors in several States on the pretext of huge returns.
Bike taxi service
In August 2017, the company had floated a plan under the guise of a bike taxi service named Bikebot, wherein people could invest in motorcycles, for which they would be paid a monthly rent, interest and bonuses in case of multiple investments. Further incentives for bringing in investors, in a binary/multi-level marketing structure, were also offered.
The company allotted franchisees in various cities but the bike taxi barely operated there. The collection of money and repayments continued till early 2019. In Nov-2018, the company floated a similar plan for “e-bikes”, stating that petrol bikes were facing issues regarding registration and operation.
Subscription amount for the new scheme was almost double that of the first plan. The funds so raised were used for repayment to the earlier investors, as alleged.
During investigation, in February, the ED carried out searches at 12 locations in Delhi and Uttar Pradesh. “A survey conducted at a cooperative bank in Noida revealed suspicious transactions and the involvement of some banking officials in helping the accused persons launder funds,” said an ED official.
