Janardhana Reddy Arrested by Central Crime Branch in Bengaluru in Ponzi Scam Case

Bengaluru, November 11: Mining baron and ex-BJP Minister G Janardhana Reddy, who was arrested by the Central Crime Branch on Sunday in the alleged Ponzi scam, has been sent in judicial custody till November 24. The court refused to grant bail to the mining baron after he was produced in the court after his arrest on Sunday. Bengaluru Court Declines Anticipatory Bail to Mining Baron Janardhan Reddy.

The former Minister and mining baron Janardhan Reddy on Saturday had reached the Central Crime Branch (CCB) office for questioning in connection with an alleged bribery case, known as the Ambidant Group Bribery Case. Ponzi Scheme Case: Police on Look Out for ‘Absconding’ Janardhan Reddy.

Reddy is suspected to have received 57 kg of gold worth Rs 18 crore to help an accused in a case being investigated by the Enforcement Directorate (ED). Along with Reddy, his secretary Ali, jeweller Ramesh Kothari and one other have been named as accomplices in the alleged fraud case.

Earlier, Karnataka commissioner of police, T Suneel Kumar had said that a company named Ambidant which was set up in 2016-17 financial year and promised 30-40 per cent per month returns to investors. But when it failed to return the principal amount, cases were registered. In January 2017, the ED raided the company. It was then that the crime branch took over the case and a probe was conducted. It was further revealed that transactions to the tune of Rs. 18 crore were carried out.

Later, it was discovered that the company had allegedly transferred the money to one Ramesh Kothari, who runs a billion business in the name of Ambika Jewellers. On quizzing Kothari, he informed that he had used the money to buy the gold, which was handed over to Reddy's personal assistant Ali.

The CCB had launched a hunt for Reddy since Wednesday in connection to the ponzi scheme. It was also on the lookout for Reddy’s close aide, Ali Khan, who had allegedly struck a Rs 20-crore deal with Syed Ahmed Fareed of Ambidant Marketing Pvt Ltd. — a company accused of involvement in the ponzi scheme — to bail him out from the Enforcement Directorate investigation. (With Agency Inputs)

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Nov 11, 2018 01:37 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).