Tens of thousands of investors had their lives turned upside down when the group’s chairman was arrested for allegedly running a Ponzi scheme
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Time is running out for Heera Group investors. India’s Supreme Court had given them until November 30 to file claims for their filings with the country’s Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO), but with just three days until the deadline, many are still struggling to catch up. .
Tens of thousands of investors, including dozens in the United Arab Emirates, saw their lives turned upside down in October 2018 when the Heera Group collapsed after its chairman Nohera Shaik was arrested in Hyderabad for allegedly leading a Ponzi.
Four years later, investors still haven’t gotten their money back.
Following a direction from the Supreme Court, the SFIO published advertisements in the newspapers, asking investors to submit their claims with relevant documents.
“If the investors do not come, it will be assumed that the debts have been abandoned or do not exist. Incomplete claims and those not provided in accordance with the format will not be considered. Complaints received after November 30 will also not be processed. Investor applicants whose names appear on the lists of deficiencies on [the] The SFIO website is invited to submit the necessary documentation. Investors who have already submitted their claims and the documents necessary to rectify the deficiencies do not need to submit them again,” the SFIO said.
So far, the SFIO has only received 6,788 claims worth Dh159 million, well below the Dh2,545 million filed by some 175,000 investors, according to Indian police.
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Hundreds of UAE residents have also lost their life savings to the India-based company. Among them are Nasim Rajab from Abu Dhabi (120,000 Dh), Muhammad Ahmed (90,000 Dh) from Dubai and Shahid Khan (75,000 Dh) from Sharjah.
When news of Nowherea’s arrest first broke, they rushed to the company’s office at Jumeirah Lake Towers. It was locked. Visits to Heera Group’s warehouses in Ras Al Khaimah and Sharjah also failed.
Indian school bus driver and longtime expatriate Shahid Khan, 63, who filed a claim with the SFIO earlier this year, said he was devastated. “I invested all my savings in Heera. It’s not easy for a school bus driver to save Dh75,000, but I did it. Now it’s all gone,” Khan told the Khaleej Times. “The last few years have been a real struggle. I submitted my application and I’m crossing my fingers.
In the United Arab Emirates, Heera Group peddled three dubious investment schemes: Heera Gold, which guaranteed monthly installments of Dhs 3,250 against a minimum investment of Dhs 100,000 (blocking period: one year), Heera Textiles which promised annual returns of 65-70% against a minimum deposit of Dh15,000 (lock-in period: two years) and Heera Foodex where a deposit of Dh15,000 (lock-in period: two years) was expected to generate annual profits of up to 80 %.
Attracted by the unusually high returns, many locals even borrowed from banks to invest in the business.
In January 2021, Nowherea Shaik was released on bail on the condition that she return the bond to the plaintiffs.
Earlier, the court allowed Heera Group to sell 87 properties to settle the claim. When passing the orders, Judge Sanjay Kishan Kaul had said: “Make the sale of goods the first task now.”
At the last hearing on November 10, the Supreme Court ordered Heera Group to pay all rights holders who approached the SFIO.