Odisha EOW nabs Mutual Alliance chief for duping investors of Rs 5 crore

The Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of Odisha Crime Branch arrested Dhananjaya Sahoo, Managing Director of Mutual Alliance Global Pvt Ltd, for allegedly duping around 200 investors of approximately Rs 5 crore by promising to double their investments.

Sahoo was apprehended on February 21 from Khairatabad, Hyderabad, after the EOW registered a case on January 31 based on a complaint filed by an investor Govinda Chandra Sahoo, stated a press note from the EOW.

Originating from Bhandaripokhari, Bhadrak District, the accused had set up five companies between 2011 and 2021, including Mutual Alliance, Goodland Happy Home Infra Ltd, Goodland Construction Pvt Ltd, Purifio Technology Pvt Ltd, and Coinex Technology Pvt Ltd.

Modus operandi of the scam:

According to EOW officials, Sahoo lured investors by promising high returns through real estate marketing, blockchain, e-commerce, and online gaming platforms. In 2020, he established Mutual Alliance with an office in Bhubaneswar. Additionally, he and his associates conducted meetings in various hotels to persuade the public to invest with the promise of doubling their investments within 10 months. To gain trust, he issued post-dated cheques and signed agreements with investors.

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Rs 5 crore siphoned off investors

Investigations revealed that between 2020 and 2021, Sahoo collected Rs 5 crore in unregulated deposits from investors in Cuttack, Khordha, Jajpur, Bhadrak, Keonjhar, and Mayurbhanj. While he initially made some payments, he soon stopped and absconded, closing his office. To evade arrest, he hid in different states.

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Current investigation

On Monday, the EOW brought Dhananjaya Sahoo to Odisha and presented him before the OPID Court in Cuttack.

Till the last reports, the investigation was ongoing with officials seizing incriminating materials such as laptops, mobile phones, and ATM cards while also discovering that Sahoo had also visited foreign countries like Dubai, Thailand, and Germany using the scammed money.