A month after the Rs 4,355.43 crore scam at PMC Bank left its customers in the lurch, another fraud has reportedly surfaced in Maharashtra's Thane with promoters of Goodwin Jewellers going incommunicado since October 22. All the 12 Indian branches of the mid-sized jeweller have been shut since last Tuesday. Goodwin Jewellers chairman A.M. Sunilkumar, managing director A.M. Sudheeshkumar and manager Manish Kundi have been untraceable since then.
Thane police have registered a case against the trio for allegedly fleeing with crores of rupees invested by customers. Sunilkumar and Sudheeshkumar are brothers. The jewellers have been booked for cheating, criminal breach of trust and common intention. "We have registered a case against owners of Goodwin Jewellers. Around 300 people came to us and complained about the fraud committed by the store's Dombivli branch. It has committed a fraud of over Rs 10 crore. We have sealed the outlet," ANI reported citing Suresh Ahire, Senior Police Inspector at Dombivali Police Station, Thane.
The police said scores of customers had either deposited gold with the shop or had invested money in their fixed deposit or saving schemes. The complainants suspect the accused have fled with all the money.
The jewellery store chain was incorporated in 1992 by Sunilkumar and Sudheeshkumar' father A.G. Mohanan. Of the jeweller's 12 branches in India, 11 are in Maharashtra and the remaining one in Kerala's Thrissur. It claims to have presence in the UAE, especially Dubai and Kuwait. Sudheeshkumar's Facebook page, with photos of them posing with celebrities and political leaders across parties, reveals that the brothers were well-connected in social circles.
Customers in the dark
The incident came to light after around 300 customers protested outside Goodwill Jewellers's Dombivli branch, a day before Diwali on Saturday.
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Customers of Goodwin Jewellers gathered outside the store claiming that the outlet was not opened for some days before Diwali. A notice was posted outside the Dombivli branch on October 22 saying the shop would be shut for two days. "We are coming to the shop for last four days. There is a notice that said the shop will be closed for two days. They have fled away with our money. They refused to give us our money and said that they don't have it now. There are around 500 people who deposited their money in the store," a customer said.
Reportedly, many customers had parked their funds at the jeweller as small fixed deposits. "They would promise me good returns, saying that if I deposited Rs 1 lakh they would give me Rs 1.17 lakh by the year-end. They also used to run jewellery schemes asking people to deposit a fixed sum over nine to 10 months towards the purchase of jewellery, and promising to pay the last two EMIs," Mumbai Mirror reported citing complainant Sanjay Biswas, who claims to have lost Rs 9.81 lakh. Citing another customer, the Mumbai Mirror report said that most of the customers of Goodwin Jewellers are from Kerala. They were attracted by the promise of 17 per cent interest of FDs.
As of now, the Thane police have estimated a loss of Rs 1.8 crore to the customers in total.
