Odisha EOW to question ‘Dulhe Raja’ actor Govinda in Rs 1,000 crore online ponzi scam case: Report

The Odisha Economic Offences Wing (EOW) on Wednesday said that it will question Bollywood actor Govinda as part of its probe into a pan-India online ponzi scam worth around Rs 1,000 crore.  The Odisha EOW told the daily that the Solar Techno Alliance’s STA-Token, which had an online presence in several countries, was allegedly illegally operating a pyramid-structured online ponzi scheme under the guise of crypto investment.  

They collected deposits without any authorisation from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) worth around Rs 1,000 crore from over 2 lakh people all over India, the publication further reported. The company has collected a total of Rs 30 crore from 10,000 people in Bhadrak, Keonjhar, Balasore, Mayurbhanj, and Bhubaneswar.  

They also took lakhs in deposits from investors in Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Rajasthan, Haryana, Delhi, Jharkhand and other states. The Bollywood actor had reportedly featured in a few promotional videos of the brand and will now be questioned for more inputs to assist with the probe into the case, Times of India reported citing Odisha EOW officials.  

EOW Inspector General J N Pankaj told the daily that a team will soon be sent to Mumbai to question the actor. Pankaj added that the EOW will make the Dulhe Raja actor a witness in the case if they find that his role was only limited to endorsing the product as per the business agreement. “If we find that his role was limited to only endorsement of the product (STAToken brand) as per their business agreement, then we will make him a witness in our case,” Pankaj mentioned.  

How did the company allegedly operate?  

The company allegedly enticed people to invest money and also encouraged them to enrol more investors. The company offered them an incentive to build a network chain and told the depositors that the scale of interest and bonus would be subject to the number of investors they manage to recruit.  

Update in the case  

Meanwhile, the EOW has arrested the company’s country and Odisha heads Gurtej Singh Sidhu and Nirod Das respectively on August 7. On August 16, Bhubaneswar-based investment adviser Ratnakar Palai was arrested for his alleged link with Gurtej Singh Sidhu. Lookout circulars have also been issued against the company’s chief David Gez, a Hungarian national and three other Indian executives from Rajasthan—Krishna Kumar, Anil Kumar and Bhoora Ramfor—for their alleged involvement in the scam.  

Also Read: ‘Jawan’ box office collection day 8: Shah Rukh Khan’s film crosses Rs 650 crore worldwide; surpasses Rajinikanth’s 'Jailer'

Also Read: Invitations sent for Parineeti Chopra Raghav Chadha's wedding; Arvind Kejriwal, Bhagwant Mann to be in attendance

Also Read:  'Jawan' vs 'Gadar' 2 vs 'Jailer': Shah Rukh Khan beats Rajinikanth, Sunny Deol at box office this summer