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DNA MONEY EXCLUSIVE: Has promoter of Rs 4,900 cr Citrus ponzi scheme fled India?

The promoters of Mirah Hotel chain ran two collective investment schemes, Royal Twinkle Star Club and Citrus Check Inns Ltd

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Gaurav Goenka
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Gaurav Goenka, managing director of Mirah Hotel chain, who is involved in two ponzi schemes that owe close to Rs 4,900 crore to 18 lakh investors, has gone missing from the country, the Supreme Court was told late last week.

The legal counsel of the investors' group of the ponzi schemes informed the apex court that Goenka is in Dubai and expressed fears that all the other directors of Citrus Check Inns Ltd and Royal Twinkle Star Club may also flee the country.

In response, Goenka's lawyer said that he does not know the whereabouts of Gaurav but the passport of his father Omprakash Goenka has been deposited with the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) in Mumbai following the court's directives.

The promoters of Mirah Hotel chain ran two collective investment schemes (CIS), Royal Twinkle Star Club and Citrus Check Inns Ltd, which are now mired in litigation. The investors of these schemes allege that Gaurav Goenka is the kingpin behind the "Mirah scam".

A full bench of the Supreme Court, including Justice Rohinton F Nariman, on March 23 heard the case filed by the investors of the two schemes. Royal Twinkle and Citrus had mobilised investors mainly from Maharashtra, Goa, Karnataka and Gujarat.

The next hearing of the case is on April 20.

In January 2018, the apex court had stayed the proceeding in the NCLT observing that there seems to be a prima facie case of collusive effort between the promoters and the petitioners.

The investor group has alleged that Gaurav Goenka is the mastermind in this fraud and he should be investigated. Defending the investor group is Salman Khurshid while the legal counsel for the promoter group of Citrus and Royal Twinkle is led by Mukul Rastogi.

Investors fighting the case in the court allege that the group is expanding its hotel chain and has about 100 companies. The group, however, maintained in the court that it has only 30 companies.

On April 27, 2017, Sayali Rane and Eknath Ahire, two investors in Citrus and Royal Twinkle, had approached the NCLT to liquidate the two companies. On May 2, the petition was admitted and Devendra Jain, a chartered accountant, was appointed as the interim resolution professional (IRP).

After this, ten Citrus investors approached the NCLT to file intervention petitions. These investors alleged that the NCLT was kept in the dark about certain rulings of the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi), Securities Appellate Tribunal (SAT) and the Supreme Court, which had asked the promoters to repay the money in two years' time. SAT upheld the Sebi order and banned the scheme in 2014.

The market regulator had directed the four directors of Royal Twinkle Star Club Ltd to refund investors' money within three months. The money was collected under various holiday plans, which promised cashbacks if the investors did not utilise them. Sebi asked Royal Twinkle and its directors Omprakash Basantlal Goenka, Prakash Ganpat Utekar, Venkatraman Natrajan and Narayan Shivram Kotnis to refrain from garnering money under CIS. It also barred them from accessing markets for four years in 2016.

The Mirah group owns brands including Khandani Rajdhani, Café Mangii, Falafel, United Sports Bar & Grill. It also has strategic investments in restaurant companies that own Masala Library, Farzi Café, Smoke House Deli, Social and Mad Over Donuts.

IN THE DOCK

  • The promoters of Mirah Hotel chain ran two collective investment schemes, Royal Twinkle Star Club and Citrus Check Inns Ltd
     
  • The investors of these schemes allege that Gaurav Goenka is the kingpin behind the "Mirah scam"
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