Hyderabad police asks DFI investors to submit deposit details as asset recovery process advances

Account subscription benefits alongside Premium Stories, Editorials, Opinions and more. Unlock these with Subscription The View From India Looking at World Affairs from the Indian perspective. First Day First Show News and reviews from the world of cinema and streaming. Today's Cache Your download of the top 5 technology stories of the day. Data Point Decoding the headlines with facts, figures, and numbers Health Matters Ramya Kannan writes to you on getting to good health, and staying there The Hindu On Books Books of the week, reviews, excerpts, new titles and features. Hyderabad police have urged investors who deposited money with the Dhanwantari Foundation International (DFI) and have not yet approached investigators to submit their details, as authorities move ahead with the process of recovering funds through the sale of attached properties. The appeal comes in connection with a cheating case registered in December 2023 against DFI, represented by its director P. Kamalakar Sharma, and others. The organisation is accused of collecting around ₹516 crore from more than 2,000 investors by promising high returns on deposits and allegedly targeting members of the Brahmin community. According to police, a case was registered at Central Crime Station (CCS), Hyderabad under provisions relating to criminal breach of trust, cheating and the Telangana Protection of Depositors of Financial Establishments Act following a complaint by Susrala Narsimha Murthy. During the investigation, police arrested the prime accused and identified properties acquired through the scheme. These include nearly 450 acres of land across Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, along with around 3,000 square yards of commercial space in a prime area of Hyderabad. Investigators subsequently secured eight government orders for the ad-interim attachment of the properties. The attached assets were later made absolute by a sessions court. Police said the Telangana High Court also dismissed appeals filed by DFI challenging the attachment orders. Officials have now asked all remaining investors who have not submitted their deposit details to do so at the earliest. The information will be used by the competent authority to prepare the list of depositors under the Telangana Protection of Depositors of Financial Establishments Act, enabling the equitable distribution of proceeds once the attached properties are auctioned.