Rs 4,000 crore 'Bike Bot' scam: ED arrests Manoj Tyagi in UP's Hapur

LUCKNOW: Enforcement Directorate's Lucknow unit arrested Manoj Tyagi in connection with Rs 4,000 crore 'Bike Bot' scam on Monday.
Former director of F7 broadcast company Manoj Tyagi received around Rs 14 crores from the funds collected from 'Bike Bot' investors.
Tyagi was arrested from his residence in Hapur district of Uttar Pradesh. ED had registered a case under Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 in connection with 'Bike Bot' scam in June 2019.
ED said that Manoj Tyagi, a close associate of one of the main accused Vijender Singh Hooda, who is now in jail, facilitated the financial transactions of several hundred crores of rupees and concealed material facts.
ED officials also said that Rs 13.41 crores have been transferred to F7 Broadcast from various companies related to 'Bike Bot'.
The searches were also carried out at Saha Infratech Private Limited and its promoter Anil Saha.
Both these companies have been found to have receive crores of rupees from the money collected from 'Bike Bot' investors towards investment in real estate and otherwise, without any proper agreement or documentation.
"Several incriminating documents, electronic devices and Rs 9.5 lakh cash has been seized as a result of these searches," the ED said.
The 'Bike Bot' scam mastermind Sanjay Bhati has named Manoj Tyagi during his examination as the one who got back dated cheques signed by him for the financial transactions. ED said that Tyagi will be produced before a PMLA court on Tuesday.
The 'Bike Bot' scam surfaced in November last year when a Jaipur resident lodged an FIR.
It then came to light that Sanjay Bhati, through his Garvit Innovators Promoters Limited (GIPL), had duped 2.6 lakh people.
Through his 'Bike Bot' scheme, Bhati lured customers into investing in motorcycle taxis and assured them monthly returns, besides doubling their investment within a year.
The victims of the scam spread across seven states -- UP, Rajasthan, Punjab, Haryana and Karnataka, Maharashtra and West Bengal.