Owner of JVG group arrested in Delhi

V K Sharma, owner of JVG group who has been on the run for the past three years after allegedly duping lakhs of investors of around Rs 1,000 crore, has been arrested here, police said today.
Sharma was apprehended from near Pragati Maidan after a chase of around 10 km last evening, Ravindra Yadav, Additional Commissioner of Police (Crime), said. He was driving a Mercedes E-class car when arrested.
A 51-year-old school-drop out, Sharma aimed at setting up a Rs 12,000 crore business empire but allegedly ended up as a cheat. He had a reward of Rs one lakh on his head.

"He is wanted in ten cases of cheating. He floated 17 companies and cheated lakhs of investors all over the country to the tune of Rs 1,000 crore," he said.
Sharma, son of a former government school teacher, was apprehended after a dramatic chase from Kailash Colony to Bhairon Road. Two Head Constables caught hold of Sharma from the driver side and took out the vehicle keys while another entered the car from the other side and overpowered him.
"Sharma had grand plans for expanding JVG to a Rs 12,000 crore empire by 2000. He announced that he would invest over Rs 4,000 crore in diverse areas such as power, cement, hotels, steel, textiles and aviation. He also launched 'Avatar' brand of detergent and washing bars to enter the FMCG segment.

"He wanted to set up mega townships in Gurgaon, Patna, Mumbai and Hyderabad, and to acquire hotel and cement interests of the Jaiprakash Industries, the steel units of Rathi Alloys and the aircraft of ModiLuft," Yadav said.

He named colonies developed by his company after leaders like Charan Singh and Jai Prakash Narayan
Sharma had acquired Orkay's polyester yarn plant in Mumbai in March 1997 through a tripartite agreement with financial institutions led by IDBI and the Mehras who owned Orkay.
He was to pay the Mehras Rs 98 crore and take on the Rs 130 crore liability to the various banks but the agreement fell apart after he allegedly could not meet the deadlines.

In June 1997, SEBI asked JVG Finance to refund Rs 45 crore it raised through a public issue earlier that year.
RBI banned all non-banking financial companies of the JVG Group in October 1997 from accepting deposits from the public as they were found short of following the RBI guidelines.