ED attaches assets worth Rs 29 cr in Ponzi scheme running Pearlvine

The Enforcement Directorate on Friday said assets worth more than Rs 29 crore have been attached under the anti-money laundering law as part of an investigation against a fraud investment website that ran a Ponzi scheme across the country.

The action has been taken against the portal --www.pearlvine.com -- that runs under the banner of Pearlvine International, the central agency said in a statement.

The money laundering case stems from an FIR filed by the CID of Meghalaya Police on a complaint made by the RBI.

Pearlvine International was an "unrecognised" entity, which claimed itself to be US-based and provided several lucrative investment options. It collected a minimum amount of Rs 2,250 as membership fees and ran a Ponzi scheme in India between 2018 till March, 2023, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) said.

During this period, the company organised seminars all around the country soliciting membership and popularising its benefits, the central agency said.

At one point of time in 2022, Pearlvine International claimed a membership of 80 lakh members in India and abroad, as per the ED.

It said a person named Neeraj Kumar Gupta was "behind the entire scam" and had purchased the domain www.pearlvine.com in November 2015.

The central agency said Gupta conducted several seminars of Pearlvine International in India as well as in Thailand.

The designing and hosting of the portal (pearlvine.com) was done by one Parvesh Saroha and the proceeds of crime of this case were mainly invested in landed properties, as per the agency.

Assets worth Rs 29.25 crore have been attached recently while a similar attachment was done to freeze properties worth 7.82 crore (of Saroha) in the past, the ED said.