Ex-service man jailed for duping investors of Rs 20 crore in Coimbatore

COIMBATORE: The Economic Offense Wing (EOW) of the city police arrested ex-service man on Wednesday for duping close to 500 investors, who are mostly ex-service personnel or those in service, of more than Rs 20 crore. They have also launched a manhunt for his aide.
An investigation officer identified the accused as K Mani, 44, a resident of Coonoor in the Nilgiris district. His accomplice M Manjunathan, a native of Karnataka who has been residing in Coonoor, is on the run.
The officer said, “Two years ago, Mani told his friends, who had worked with him in military, that he was working with a reputed private firm and lured them into making a one-time investment of Rs 1.75 lakh to Rs 10 lakh by promising a handsome monthly interest and other surprise gifts. He asked them to transfer the amount to an account number through internet banking.”
The investors were paid interest and gold coins weighing 10g to 20g for the first few months. Taken up by the returns, they told about the investment to several people, mostly service personnel and their family members, who put their money in the scheme. To their shock, Mani abruptly stopped paying them monthly interest from May, 2019.
One of the victims, Lara Vinarasi, 35, a resident of Podhanur, had lodged a complaint with Economic Offense Wing sleuths.