In a significant crackdown on financial fraud, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) has apprehended Sukhvinder Singh Kharour and Dimple Kharour, who are alleged masterminds behind the staggering Rs 3,558 crore ‘cloud particle scam’.
The couple was intercepted at Delhi’s IGI Airport while attempting to exit the country. Acting on specific intelligence, authorities placed them under arrest based on an active Look Out Circular (LoC).
The ED initiated the investigation after an FIR was filed by Gautam Budh Nagar Police in Uttar Pradesh. Investigators disclosed that Sukhvinder Singh Kharour, CEO and founder of a major company, orchestrated this vast fraud through a misleading ‘sale and lease-back’ (SLB) model.
Despite claims of a cloud particle technology venture enticing investors with promises of high returns, the business was primarily fictitious. Investigators found that funds were allegedly diverted for personal enrichment.
Authorities report that investor funds were redirected into personal accounts and shell companies, utilized for luxury acquisitions and handed out as large commissions to channel partners.
The ED has uncovered connections between these misappropriated funds and entities associated with Dimple Kharour, including several companies that had no legitimate ties to the fraudulent operation.
Previously, the ED executed multiple searches at sites linked to the involved companies, seizing assets valued at Rs 178.12 crore under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). The latest arrests follow the earlier capture of another suspect in this ongoing investigation.
A local court has remanded Sukhvinder and Dimple Kharour to ED custody for continued investigation as officials work to trace the full scale of the scam and recover the unlawfully acquired funds.
