Three Ahmedabad investors allege ₹1.56 crore fraud in GIFT City World Trade Centre investment scheme

Three investors from Ahmedabad have alleged that they were cheated of ₹1.56 crore after being lured into investing in a project linked to the World Trade Centre, GIFT City, with promises of high monthly returns and a buyback guarantee, police said.

A complaint in this regard has been registered with the Economic Offences Prevention Branch of the CID Crime Gujarat in Gandhinagar. The complaint accuses managers of a company operating from Trade Centre Noida Development Company of cheating investors through a structured investment scheme.

According to the complaint filed by Purushottambhai Multani, a resident of the Vastrapur area of Ahmedabad, he and two relatives were introduced to the investment opportunity by an estate agent a few years ago.

The agent reportedly informed them that a commercial building named the World Trade Centre was being developed in Gujarat International Finance Tec-City (GIFT City) and that a formal investment scheme was being offered to investors.

Multani, along with his friend Om Prakash Bhandari and his nephew, later visited the company’s office in GIFT City, where the firm’s general manager allegedly assured them of a 1% monthly return on their investment. The scheme also promised a buyback of the property after two years, along with a 12% return thereafter, the complaint states.

Believing the proposal to be a profitable investment opportunity in the rapidly developing financial hub, the three investors together invested ₹1.56 crore in the scheme.

Police said the investors initially received the promised returns for a few months. However, payments later stopped, and repeated attempts to contact the company’s officials reportedly failed.

The complainants have alleged that company officials, including senior staff members, avoided communication and did not return the invested money.

Preliminary investigation by the Economic Offences Prevention Branch has suggested that the company may have used a similar modus operandi to collect large sums of money from other investors as well.