IPO scam: owner of firm now shifts blame on his associate
Kaustubh Chokshi, the director of Powai-based Sadhrta Retail Ltd, who had been arrested for allegedly duping over 1100 investors to the tune of over Rs 3 crore, is not an average white-collared criminal. He hails from a family of businessmen and holds a doctorate in Artificial Intelligence (AI) from the University of Sunderland (UK) and a degree in business management. Even as the Powai police are probing his alleged involvement in the scam, Chokshi has reportedly denied all the allgations against him and put blame on Sanjay Mehta, the company’s director (finance).
“Chokshi claimed that the ‘double your money within 20 days offer’ was conceptualised and executed by Mehta to revive the firm. According to him, Mehta’s two agents were responsible for snaring the investors and goading them into investing the maximum amount of money possible,” said Assistant Police Inspector S Waral.
Sadhrta— an e-commerce company that was nearing bankruptcy— had decided to launch an IPO to revive the company. Chokshi and his father Upen Chokshi also own Intelligence Business Systems (IBS), an IT company. Also, Chokshi had started another IT firm, Déjà vu Solutions, in January 2009.
In an investors update document that has been uploaded on Sadhrta’s website in September 2008, Chokshi writes, “Sadhrta Retail Pvt Ltd is Sadhrta Retail Ltd (SRL), a public limited company, with effect from September 2008, a great milestone for all of us. This is the first step required to take your company to the public with the forthcoming IPO.”
Chokshi would not have realised that exactly after a year, he would be behind bars for allegedly duping the investors who had been assured good returns. “Over 33 investors have come to us and we have recorded statements from some of them. We expect many more to come forward as a major chunk of investors’ money, around Rs 2.41 crore is in a frozen account. Many of the investors hail from middle-class families and a few have even sold off valuables to invest in the scheme,” said DCP, Zone X, Prakash Mutyal.
Source:Indian Express
“Chokshi claimed that the ‘double your money within 20 days offer’ was conceptualised and executed by Mehta to revive the firm. According to him, Mehta’s two agents were responsible for snaring the investors and goading them into investing the maximum amount of money possible,” said Assistant Police Inspector S Waral.
Sadhrta— an e-commerce company that was nearing bankruptcy— had decided to launch an IPO to revive the company. Chokshi and his father Upen Chokshi also own Intelligence Business Systems (IBS), an IT company. Also, Chokshi had started another IT firm, Déjà vu Solutions, in January 2009.
In an investors update document that has been uploaded on Sadhrta’s website in September 2008, Chokshi writes, “Sadhrta Retail Pvt Ltd is Sadhrta Retail Ltd (SRL), a public limited company, with effect from September 2008, a great milestone for all of us. This is the first step required to take your company to the public with the forthcoming IPO.”
Chokshi would not have realised that exactly after a year, he would be behind bars for allegedly duping the investors who had been assured good returns. “Over 33 investors have come to us and we have recorded statements from some of them. We expect many more to come forward as a major chunk of investors’ money, around Rs 2.41 crore is in a frozen account. Many of the investors hail from middle-class families and a few have even sold off valuables to invest in the scheme,” said DCP, Zone X, Prakash Mutyal.
Source:Indian Express
This guy is a fraud , he has duped many employees of Sadhrta and Dejavu . He has not paid salaries for more than 2 months and promises that he has got investors from Europe and other countries. With the IPO scam looks like his ultimate motive is to flee from the country once he makes enough money. He has played with many innocent lives , especially employees who were working there for more than 2 months without even being paid daily conveyance.
Kaustubh and his father are fraud , they use to hire employees and tell them they are working for Sadhrta and then would say that they are working for Dejavu Solutios, and make excusues , that investors are delaying to invest money in the company and not pay salaries.
I guess with his mastermind , he will blame other people for his own doings ..... He should be punished...
So much to join a company for a better future.
Ex- Employee
The company and its directors are 100% fraud and criminals. They hired people from their stable environments and promised them high high perks and convinced them to work for a company which according to them was a part of Swiss based Ti dimensie group.
But all of these were just rosy pictures and the employees were cheated. They were not paid their salaries and daily conveyance as promised. People had to work for more than 2 months without a single penny in hand and were stuck in a no mans land as recession had hit by then making it difficult to get a good stable job.
Kaustubh Choksi and his associates are cheats and played with innocent people making hteir life miserable. People were forced to resign without pay. Inspite of repeated folow ups thru mails and emails for clearing the dues. He would not respond and speak in a very rude and abusive language.
Such people should be severely punished so that its a lesson for others and no body dares to do so in future.
Ex-Employee
http://www.consumercourt.in/software/4993-intelligent-business-system-complaints-not-given-salary-employee.html
Take a look at the above link , there would be more available if you google... just so that everybody knows about the fraud.
Kaustubh Chokshi (KC) is a fraud on MANY levels, not only has he stolen money from hard working individuals, but he DOES NOT have a Doctorate (Ph.D) whilst at Sunderland University in the UK, he FAILED his PhD and NEVER completed it, so he is also lying, he is NOT a Dr. he is simply a FRAUD! I hope he rots in jail!