india

Updated: Jun 23, 2019 23:29 IST

Fugitive IMA Group of Companies managing director, Mohammed Mansoor Khan, on Sunday uploaded a video addressed to the Bengaluru police commissioner, Alok Kumar, on streaming platform YouTube expressing his desire to return to India. Khan, who is accused of cheating 40,000 investors to the tune of ~2,000 crore, fled India early this month.

In the video, he claimed to have fled India under very difficult circumstances. Khan added he tried to return on June 14 but was not allowed to board a plane. Khan said he was willing to appear before the police and reveal all those who were behind the scam.

The investors have so far filed around 40,000 complaints demanding that their money be returned. Khan’s current location is unknown even as his passport was suspended on Saturday.

In the 18-minute video, Khan said it was a mistake to leave India. “But those who were close to me, those in the management, politicians who were close to me and others betrayed me. I had to hide my family and nothing was planned. Everything happened on the spur of the moment.”

Khan said he trusts Kumar that he will be fair. “You have an opportunity to support the public and I want to return because of that. I do not have any selfish interest and whatever is the truth, I will reveal to your team and the investigation will have my support.”

Khan said the IMA had given a stable income to 21,000 families for 13 years, but that they did not support him. “Till now IMA has given investors ~12,000 crore through various entities. Around ~2,000 crore capital investment has been returned. What more can be said?” he said.

Khan added he was willing to liquidate his assets worth about ~1,350 crore to return the money to his investors. “I was never running a ponzi scheme. This was a true business,” he said. He blamed corruption for bankrupting his firm. He said he had a list of all those, who had extorted from him. “Whenever, I come before the [police] department and judiciary, I will reveal all this and I am certain that they will not let me live,” Khan said. “The names involved are not small. Many big people are involved.”

Khan said that a non-banking financial company had agreed to fund IMA, but one Indian Administrative Service officer did not allow that to happen because a payment of ~10 crore got delayed.

Khan referred to a charge he made earlier that Congress lawmaker Roshan Baig had not returned ~400 crore to IMA. Seeking CBI probe, he claimed just because Baig had questioned his claim, it has been swept under the carpet saying there was no proof.