The IMA Ponzi scheme is worth Rs 4,000 crore, according to investigators
The CBI has filed a chargesheet against two Karnataka government officials in the multi-crore I-Monetary Advisory Ponzi scam case, alleging they took bribes from IMA promoter Mohammed Mansoor Khan to give him a clean chit, officials said on Monday.
The chargesheet was filed against the then assistant commissioner of Bengaluru North Taluk LC Nagaraj and village accountant Manjunath N after getting the state government's permission to prosecute them in the alleged Rs 4,000 crore scam, they said.
It has been alleged in the chargesheet that Mr Nagaraj got a bribe of Rs 4.5 crore and Manjunath Rs 10 lakh, they said. The scam surfaced in mid-2019 when Mansoor Khan suddenly fled to Dubai, from where he was later deported.
In the chargesheet, the probe agency did not mention the then Deputy Commissioner of Bengaluru Urban District BM Vijay Shankar, who was named in the FIR, as he died, they added.
It has been alleged that IMA group entities headed by Mansoor Khan raised illegal and unauthorised deposits in an alleged dishonest and fraudulent manner from innocent investors to the tune of over Rs 4,000 crore.
In its chargesheet filed recently before a special CBI court in Bengaluru, the CBI alleged that Nagaraj received Rs 4.5 crore from Mr Khan and other directors of IMA for giving a clean chit to IMA activities, while Mr Manujnath as middleman received Rs 10 lakh.
The case is an off-shoot of the IMA scam in which the CBI has filed two chargesheets against the 22 accused, they said. The probe agency has registered four separate FIRs related to the scam.
Along with Mr Khan, the directors and others who benefited from the scheme were arrested. In all, around 25 people were arrested in connection with the scam.