Moneyedge Group Accused of ₹100 Crore Fraud; Two Directors Arrested

The Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of Mumbai Police has registered a case against the Moneyedge Group of Companies and its associated entities for alleged fraud and misappropriation of investors' funds. Complainant Rahul Poddar and other investors have accused the company's directors of duping them with the promise of a 24% annual return.

As per the complaint, Moneyedge Group of Companies, through its four subsidiaries—Moneyedge Investments, Moneyedge Fincorp, Moneyedge Realtors, and Moneyedge Capital Services—collected investments worth ₹2.80 crore between January 2022 and May 2024. The company promised high returns but stopped paying the promised returns after October 2024.

When the complainants approached the directors—Rajiv Jadhav, Hariprasad Venugopal, Pranav Ravarane, and Priya Prabhu—they failed to provide satisfactory responses. Subsequently, a complaint was lodged with the EOW in October 2024.

The investigation revealed that Moneyedge Group violated SEBI regulations and illegally misused investors' deposits. Over 3,000 investors were found to have invested more than ₹100 crore in the company's projects.

An EOW official stated that the company was established in 2013 and began soliciting investments by promising 24% annual returns. Initially, it distributed 2% of the promised returns monthly, but payments ceased, leading to the complaints.

A senior police inspector, Dattatreya Bakare, is supervising the investigation, which is being led by PI Nitin Gije, API Arjun Padwale, and their team.

The investigation also uncovered that Rajiv Jadhav, the company's founder, previously worked in a bank. Priya Prabhu, who took VRS from her job at the post office, joined the company as part of its operations. Both are currently under police scrutiny.

Based on the complaints, EOW has registered a case under Sections 409, 420, and 34 of the Indian Penal Code, along with provisions of the Maharashtra Depositors Act, 1999. Hariprasad Venugopal and Pranav Ravarane have been arrested in connection with the case. They were produced in court, which has remanded them to police custody until January 22.

Mumbai Police has urged citizens to verify the authenticity of any financial institution before investing. They have also requested people to report institutions offering unrealistic returns to the official Mumbai Police portal.