Hundreds of investors outside IMA Group office in Shivajinagar

BENGALURU: Hundreds of investors gathered at the office of financial firm I Monetary Advisory ( IMA ) in Shivajinagar, Bengaluru, on Monday morning after its founder-owner, Mohammed Mansoor Khan, purportedly stated in an audio clip that he was ending his life as he was "tired of bribing corrupt politicians and bureaucrats".In the audio clip, reportedly addressed to the city police commissioner, Khan alleged senior Congress leader and Shivajinagar MLA R Roshan Baig had refused to return the Rs 400 crore he had taken and that there was a threat to his life. The police are yet to ascertain if Khan has indeed ended his life and have intensified their search for the founder-owner and his family members.The audio clip was widely circulated on WhatsApp and hundreds of investors tried to attack IMA's showroom in Shivajinagar. However, additional police personnel were deployed and the situation brought under control.Launched in 2006, IMA, an Islamic banking and halal investment firm, promised returns ranging from 14% to 18% per month before its operations turned into a sort of Ponzi scheme. The company had collected over Rs 2,000 crore in investments from the public, mostly members of the Muslim community. IMA had diversified into the jewellery, real estate, bullion trading, pharmacy, publishing, education and healthcare sectors.The audio clip, purportedly of Khan, surfaced a day after his partner (in building projects) Mohammed Khalid Ahmed filed a complaint with the Commercial Street police stating Khan had cheated him of Rs 1.3 crore.Meanwhile, Baig, who was in New Delhi to attend a function, told TOI that he has not had any financial dealings with the firm and the clip was a conspiracy hatched by his opponents in Congress to defame him."I doubt the veracity of the audio clip as this is the second time that my name is being linked to IMA's financial transactions recently," Baig said. "On June 1, a message on WhatsApp said I would stand guarantee for investments made in IMA and that I would safeguard returns."Baig said he would file a case with the cyber police. The Shivajinagar MLA also shared a WhatsApp message allegedly put out by the IMA management which stated: "We the management of IMA are working hard day and night to make sure IMA's transactions fall back on track in a week from now and we have left no stone unturned to achieve the same. We are optimistic and confident that this temporary volatility will pass by... in a week's time and business will blossom like ever. Also, we would like to highlight a few unwanted messages affiliating IMA Group with certain political parties or political leaders (that have) been circulating in social media and misleading the local population. The IMA group follows a strict Standard Operational Procedure and has never partnered with any organisation, company, trust or individual."