City Limo chief will spend a year in jail: Enforcement Directorate

City Limo chief will spend a year in jail: Enforcement Directorate

TNN Jan 7, 2011, 06.27am IST

MUMBAI: S M Masood, chairman of City Limouzines, will remain in jail for a year over foreign exchange violations, officials of the Enforcement Directorate (ED) told TOI. He has also been accused of duping thousands of small-time investors who put in their savings in his investment schemes that offered 48% returns.

ED, which investigates foreign exchange violations, had probed the company's alleged violations in connection with Rs 300-crore diamond exports to Dubai. Based on these investigations, over a month ago, the Union government detained him under the Conservation of Foreign Exchange and Prevention of Smuggling Activities Act (COFEPOSA). The Act is invoked against those who indulge in smuggling.

Masood will be lodged at Central Jail in Jaipur. ED officials said scrutiny of documents revealed that the buyer in Dubai and the party who has remitted the amount were different. The exports were effected in 2008 and the ED probe revealed that the suppliers of diamonds, as claimed by the company, denied any such transaction. Masood challenged the COFEPOSA order in the Delhi high court but it was dismissed, an ED official said.

Investors across the country have been duped by City Limouzines and its sister concern, City Realcom, Promising huge returns on their investments. Investors were promised a return of 48% but in mid-2009, the cheques issued by the company started bouncing leading to panic among investors. Through loans and money collected from investors, the company bought vehicles and gave them on hire. According to the scheme, the investors were offered monthly returns for five years and at the end of the period, the vehicles were given to them back.

News Dated 18/01/2011 IBN Live News

3 held for cheating people

PTI | 10:01 PM,Jan 18,2012 Lucknow, Jan 18 (PTI) Three members of a gang, duping people in Delhi, Mumbai and Chennai by collecting money from them after promising high returns, were arrested in Gomti Nagar area here, official sources said today. On a tip off, Special Task Force (STF) of the state police arrested the trio including two women last night, home department sources said. The three - Umar Iqbal, Gita Razzaki and Seema Razzaki - are members of the gang which had duped people in Mumbai, Chennai, Delhi, Bangalore, Pune, Thane and Hyderabad by opening companies in different names like City Railcom, City Hospitality, City Airlines, City Cooperative Credit Society Limited among others and raising money from the public after promising high returns. The gang had collected Rs two crore from the public and fled, sources said adding that its leader Masood Syed had been arrested earlier from Alwar in Rajasthan.