DNA

Mumbai, Nov 9: Economic Offences Wing of Thane police arrested Mukesh Gupta, 27, sales executive and financial manager of Unique Finance, on Wednesday November 7, for allegedly duping 7,000 investors to the tune of Rs30 crore by promising huge profits and monthly returns to investors.

Padmakar Juikar of EOW said, “We arrested Gupta in Pune with the help of local police.

He has been remanded in police custody till November 17.” A manhunt has been launched to nab Prem Ashok Kamble, proprietor of the company, and his associates, Vivek Jadhav, Sanjay Shinde and Anil Bharambe.

According to Juikar, Kamble formed Unique Finance at Naupada, Thane, in 2002.

Later, the company set up branches in Nashik, Pune and Aurangabad. It dealt in car assets management business, and lured investors, promising to deliver them brand new cars for a small downpayment.

The company also promised to cover all other expenses on the car.

Initially, Unique Finance paid huge commissions/returns on a monthly basis to its members/investors.

But suddenly, in September, it shut shop. The fraud came to light when Gianender Singh Kaushik, 59, an ex-Navy lieutenant commander, alleged on September 30 that he had been cheated to the tune of Rs 16 lakh.