Pearlvine International is believed to have collected Rs 1,575 crore from unsuspecting investors between 2018 and March 2023
By Our Reporter
SHILLONG, Dec 15: The Directorate of Enforcement (ED) on Monday revealed that all the key accused, including mastermind Neeraj Kumar Gupta and his associates, in the nationwide money circulation scam operated under the banner of Pearlvine International, are based in Delhi.
The ED took up the investigation based on an FIR filed in 2021 with the CID, Meghalaya Police, by complainant Sonny Chyrmang.
Although the accused persons are based outside the state, the investigation was initiated from Meghalaya, as the FIR was registered here.
The Shillong Sub-Zonal Office of the ED provisionally attached assets worth Rs 17.91 crore in the case, all of which are located in Delhi.
The attached properties include 13 immovable assets and seven movable assets, including luxury vehicles, which were allegedly acquired using the proceeds of crime.
Officials of the ED stated that the exact number of people duped by the illegal investment scheme is yet to be ascertained, as the firm did not maintain proper or verifiable records.
“At present, we do not have the actual figures on how many people in Meghalaya have been duped,” an ED official said.
According to the investigators, Pearlvine International lured investors by promising returns of up to Rs 30 lakh against a minimum investment of around Rs 2,260.
The scheme functioned on a pyramid or Ponzi structure, wherein participants were required to recruit new members under them, leading to a continuous multiplication of investors.
“Investments were made through multiple individuals and entities. It was not floated under a single name,” an ED official said.
Pearlvine International operated an “auto-generated online money circulation scheme”, in which already enrolled members earned benefits from the activation or login fees paid by recruits.
Such schemes, officials cautioned, are financially unsustainable and unreliable in the long run, and promoters are liable to face legal action under applicable laws.
The ED said that the investigation is still underway and that it would take time before a charge sheet is filed.
“Once the investigation is completed and the charge sheet is filed, all details relating to the case will be shared,” an official said.
The ED attached the assets of the company on December 10 under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002, in connection with the fraudulent investment website www.pearlvine.com.
The total attachment in the case so far stands at Rs 54.98 crore, including an earlier attachment of assets worth Rs 37.07 crore.
Pearlvine International was an unrecognised entity that falsely claimed to be US-based and operated in India between 2018 and March 2023.
During this period, it organised seminars across the country to solicit memberships and promote its investment plans. At its peak in 2022, the firm claimed to have nearly 80 lakh members in India and abroad.
As early as November 2015, the company conducted promotional seminars in India and Thailand to expand the network.
The total money collected through the scheme is estimated to be at least Rs 1,575 crore, of which about Rs 395.35 crore has not been returned to investors.
