33 FIRs in 8 Months, Promise of 40% Return… The Story of IFS Officer Niharika and Her Husband's Crore Fraud

A case of fraud by a woman officer of the Indian Foreign Service (IFS) has come to light. It is said that she cheated her husband of several crores of rupees. After 33 FIRs were registered in just 8 months, the case began to unravel when the investigating agencies began their investigation. Police have also filed 25 charge sheets in at least 12 cases. India's foreign ministry official Niharika Singh, her husband and their companies have been charged in a money laundering case related to an investment scam, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) said on Wednesday. Recently, on November 25, a special court in Lucknow took up the prosecution's complaint. The complaint was filed on September 2, the company said in a statement. IFS officer Niharika, her husband Ajit Kumar Gupta, Ani Bullian and Industries Pvt Ltd, Ani Commodity Brokers Pvt Ltd and Ani Securities Pvt Ltd have been charged in the chargesheet under different sections of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). The ED also investigated Niharika Singh, who was last posted in the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) in Delhi, in a case related to the scam. When were 33 FIRs registered from 21 February to 26 October 2020? Complaints against other individuals and institutions continued to flow. After investigating 33 FIRs registered by the Uttar Pradesh Police within these 8 months, the money laundering case began. During this period, 25 chargesheets were filed by the police in at least 12 cases. The agency alleged that Ajit Kumar Gupta, along with his other accomplices, launched several schemes like daily deposit schemes, monthly recurring deposit schemes (RD) and fixed deposits (FD) through a company owned by him. He deposited huge amount from small investors. The company promised returns of more than 40 percent every year. But later the accused could not pay the money at this rate. Investigation also revealed that later, using the account of I Vision Credit Co-operative Society, the fraudsters started depositing money through his close associates and officials. The investigation revealed that the money collected through investment was not returned and the investors were defrauded to the tune of Rs 60 crore. Giving information about the scam, the ED said, “Ajit Gupta lured new investors and deposited the income earned from them through different companies of Annie Group. Also used to purchase several immovable properties like house, agricultural land etc. in the name of himself, his IFS wife Niharika Singh and others. In this case, the Enforcement Department has already seized more than Rs.9 crore worth of property.