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Heera Gold chief Aalima Nowhera Shaikh arrested for cheating people with gold scheme

Hyderabad: The Hyderabad police on Tuesday arrested Dr Aalima Nowhera Shaikh, chairperson of Heera Gold, on charge of cheating people in the name of deposits under gold scheme.

She has been accused of collecting hundreds of crores of rupees from thousands of people across the country. Cases have been registered against her at different places in the country, including Hyderabad, Mumbai, Bangalore and Tirupati.

Nowhera is also into politics. She is the founder president of All India Mahila Empowerment Party (MEP). Karnataka police had conducted searches at her residence and offices following complaints that she had collected huge sums from ticket aspirants in the recent Karnataka Assembly elections.

Heera Group is a consortium of more than 15 companies having branches in India and abroad. City police commissioner Anjani Kumar said the Central Crime Station (CCS) police had picked up Nowhera from Delhi on Monday. She was brought to Hyderabad and was produced before the local court.

Following a complaint by one of the victims at Banjara Hills police station, the case was transferred to the CCS which arrested her. The CCS has registered a case against her under provisions of the Telangana Deposits and Financial Establishments Act and Indian Penal Code sections 406 and 409 (both related to criminal breach of trust), 420 (cheating) and 506 (criminal intimidation).

Initial probe revealed that the Heera Group had collected deposits in the name of 15 subsidiary companies. The company operates 160 accounts in different banks in different parts of the country.

Investors panic as Heera Gold chairperson is arrested in India-----GULF NEWS

Heera Gold was offering 35% returns on investment, investors say

Dubai: The arrest of an entrepreneur-cum-politician in India has sparked panic among UAE investors who had put their life’s savings with her company’s Dubai office.

Dr Aalima Nowhera Shaikh, chairperson of Heera Gold, was taken into custody in Hyderabad on Tuesday afternoon after investors took to the street in the city demanding that they get their money back.

An Indian who lives in Abu Dhabi said he is worried about the Dh500,000 he invested with Heera Gold’s Jumeirah Lake Towers office.

Another investor who works in Dubai said he fears he had become an unwitting victim of an elaborate Ponzi scheme. “I lost Dh200,000. It was all I had. I am ruined,” he told Gulf News.

Some investors said they are weighing legal action against the company. “We have no other choice,” said a Dubai-based businessman.

Investors said the company promised them up to 35 per cent annual returns. “They told us they will invest our money in gold and textile and give us monthly profits. I joined them sometime back by investing Dh100,000. Initially they paid me around Dh3,000 monthly but soon the payments dried out,” he said.

Dr Nowhera Shaikh, 45, is also the founder of All India Mahila Empowerment Party, an Indian political party she launched in November 2017.

Earlier on Tuesday, Hyderabad police held a press conference announcing Dr Nowhera Shaikh’s arrest.

Attracted by unusually high returns thousands across India had invested in the various schemes run by the Heera Group over the last few years, said Hyderabad police Commissioner Anjani Kumar.

Last month, hundreds of Heera Gold investors held public protests in Hyderabad. Earlier, market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) said the activities of Heera Gold were in the nature of Ponzi or multi-level marketing (MLM) schemes.

It’s not immediately known how many of Heera Gold investors are from the UAE.

Calls made Heera Gold’s office in JLT remain unanswered.